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PORTS AND SHIPS

Photos and text by Andrea Frank

Here are photographs of cargo vessels that are ether anchored n ports or !atng n

poston to enter ther port of call" They are loaded !th #nkno!n goods$ tghtly ntegrated

nto a logstcal syste% of %nd bogglng co%plexty that ans!ers to press#res of t%e and

related proft"

The shp&s na%e and place of ho%e port$ together !th the shootng locaton$ hnt at an

nvsble globe'spannng net!ork of vessels that crsscross oceans" The vessels& shape s

defned by f#ncton$ ther !eathered steel bodes respond to the %art%e lght of the

respectve locatons n (#rope$ the )"S"$ and So#theast Asa" The %ages are vrt#ally

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devod of h#%ans$ renderng the shps actors on a stage of %assve scale$ charged !th

o#r often sent%ental and archac psychologcal pro*ectons and dentfcatons" In an effort

to connect the ndvd#al and the global$ I grapple !th the concept of scale$ tryng to relate

the cargo shp++loaded !th tho#sands of those standard,ed contaners and part of a fleet

of %llons++to %y o!n physcal context and scale"-y #nderlyng nterest for ths pro*ect les n syste%c relatonshps and dyna%cs n o#r

global,ed !orld" The %ages %#st f#ncton as sng#lar for%al !orks !hle collectvely

engenderng assocatons and !eavng connectons that span the ecologcal$ global

econo%c$ and soco'poltcal arenas"

.a#ght n the !hrl!nd of the rapd and often exponental gro!th and change of

technologcal revol#ton$ there s a street percepton and expectaton n the !estern !orld of 

constant and ever'%provng avalablty of faster and cheaper personal technologes$

cheaper goods++n short$ %ore st#ff" The earth s perceved and treated as an

nexha#stble reso#rce to be exploted !th no care for the long'ter% effects of o#r actons"Ports and Ships casts a lght on o#r c#rrent state of global trade$ exposng the nvsble

backbone of a convenent b#t #lt%ately destr#ctve and #n*#st socal and econo%c

syste%" /e have co%e to rely on o#tso#rcng as a strategy to c#t costs++explotng non'

#non,ed and lo!'cost labor n developng co#ntres0 %ovng ra! %ateral$ parts$ and

goods across oceans several t%es before they are sold to the cons#%er0 and gnorng the

detr%ental effects on socetes and the envron%ent"

(verythng see%s to stll be serene and cal% n ths !orld of seagong vessels %ovng on a

vast s#rface !th #n%agnable depths belo!" The changes that are c#rrently happenng n

ths body of !ater1s#ch as ce caps %eltng and !ater levels rsng1are stll tooncre%ental to be notced"

I have no dea ho! to re%edate the grave threats to the planet and h#%anty" The lnks

and dyna%cs that connect conte%porary global socetes are too ntrcate$ co%plex$ and

ne!" At no t%e n h#%an evol#ton has %an had to deal !th s#ch dyna%c syste%s on a

global scale" Technology s o#tracng o#r ablty to ass%late t" /e are n a collectve

paralyss !here !e kno! !e are part of a destr#ctve syste%$ yet are #nable to sero#sly

reconsder o#r socetal paradg%s and deologes"

 

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