With Monument, the Städtische Galerie Iserlohn is presenting the first major retrospective in Germany of the work of Australian Magnum photographer Trent Parke (b. 1971). These poetic, sombre and mysterious images are drawn from Parke’s epic project, which was published as a book in 2023 and caused a sensation worldwide.
“When I moved to Sydney, my first impression was the sheer number of people and the endless procession of office workers on their way to or from work,” writes Parke about the origins of the series. In Australia’s largest city, he worked on the streets, moving with the flow of commuters and increasing the intensity of his photography as rush hour approached. He followed the harsh Australian light as it sank into the city’s crevices, reflected off tarmac and windows, and illuminated even the darkest spaces.
The result is a series of images that show people blurred – fragmented, faceless and anonymous. As if in a trance-like state, they walk the same route through the city’s streets day after day: doomed like moths to the light. Monument contrasts the futility of our existence with the inevitability of our demise – a dystopian vision that owes as much to the science fiction films of Parke’s youth as it does to his photographic experiments in Sydney. Monument is an elegy to the modern age and the eternal cycle of life.
