synopsis
Trent Parke’s landmark publication Monument is a portal through which we bear witness to the disintegration of the universe over 294 expertly printed pages. The monolithic publication is painstakingly hand-bound in leather bearing totemic coordinates to the planet Earth, blind stamped end sheets, black sprayed edges, and a loose steel plaque, that once removed, leaves the volume without language.
When Trent Parke moved to Sydney from a small Australian country town, his first impression was of the sheer volume of people. He would grab his camera and go out exploring at every opportunity, fascinated by the endless processions.
At rush hour, he watched as the city workers moved in a great mass, all walking the great conveyor belt of life. In a trance-like state, treading the same path day after day, week after week, year after year… clocking on, clocking off, all under the spell of the city. Parke would stand on the edge of the wave, on the outside of a new world, looking in. As if watching a newly discovered species.
“At night I would watch the eclipse of moths, millions of them constantly circling the lights of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. At the same time, on my balcony, a miniature performance played out around the light above my head. The moths inevitably and without resistance were drawn to their ultimate demise. Spiralling out of control, like small spaceships caught in a tractor beam. Lured and blinded by the bright white light, they were taken out by hundreds of birds swooping in to snatch them from the air… spiders sat waiting on their webs. Built with precise coordinates across the face of the lights, they captured the hapless tiny creatures that slipped through. If any miraculously managed to survive that onslaught, they continued on, driven towards the flame, intoxicated by those burning hot light globes. Then suddenly an electrical charge in the still air. A small puff of smoke. Gone. Instant disintegration of a life form. Another blip in the universe. Another small spacecraft colliding with the blazing sun.” - Trent Parke
“At night I would watch the eclipse of moths, millions of them constantly circling the lights of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. At the same time, on my balcony, a miniature performance played out around the light above my head. The moths inevitably and without resistance were drawn to their ultimate demise. Spiralling out of control, like small spaceships caught in a tractor beam. Lured and blinded by the bright white light, they were taken out by hundreds of birds swooping in to snatch them from the air… spiders sat waiting on their webs. Built with precise coordinates across the face of the lights, they captured the hapless tiny creatures that slipped through. If any miraculously managed to survive that onslaught, they continued on, driven towards the flame, intoxicated by those burning hot light globes. Then suddenly an electrical charge in the still air. A small puff of smoke. Gone. Instant disintegration of a life form. Another blip in the universe. Another small spacecraft colliding with the blazing sun.” - Trent Parke
technical information
publisher : Stanley / Barker
2023
296 pages
dimensions : 25 x 31 cm
details : Flexibound / Embossed leather cover / Blind stamped end sheets / Sprayed edges / Metal plaque / Multiple paper
weights / Gatefolds
2023
296 pages
dimensions : 25 x 31 cm
details : Flexibound / Embossed leather cover / Blind stamped end sheets / Sprayed edges / Metal plaque / Multiple paper
weights / Gatefolds
about Trent Parke
Trent Parke was born in 1971 and raised in Newcastle, New South Wales. Using his mother’s Pentax Spotmatic and the family laundry as a darkroom, he began taking pictures when he was around 12 years old. He began his career as a press photojournalist and, in 2007, became the first Australian to become a full member of Magnum Photos.
Parke is one of the most innovative photographers of his generation. He is known for his poetic, often darkly humorous photography which offers an emotional and psychological portrait of his home country of Australia — from the southern outback to its busy beaches. Though rooted in documentary, his works sit between fiction and reality, exploring themes of identity, place and family life.
Parke’s work has been exhibited widely and is held in major institutional collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of New South Wales, and Art Gallery of South Australia. In 2015, his solo exhibition The Black Rose premiered at the Art Gallery of South Australia, featuring photographs, lightboxes, video, written texts and books. Parke has also published seven monographs: Dream/Life (1999), The Seventh Wave with Narelle Autio (2000), Minutes to Midnight (2013), The Christmas Tree Bucket (2014), Crimson Line (2020), Cue the Sun (2022) and Monument (2023).
- Magnum Photos
book in my collection
publisher : Stanley / Barker
2023
2023