In 1844, a small town outside of Leipzig, Germany saw the birth of Friedrich Nietzsche. The son of a pastor who died early in his life, Nietzsche’s obsession with the death of God was poetic if not psychological. This project is simultaneously an exploration of the dread that Nietzsche saw developing in a godless culture, and an invitation to locate it within oneself. It is an exercise in failed reaching; similarly to the idols of old, the photographic object remains always out of reach, and always a siren, promising fulfillment.
Dionysus, Oh Dreadful consists of still life photographs as well as landscape, architectural, and archival photographs made throughout Germany. The still life photographs explore feeling with symbolic and stylistic references to 17th century baroque paintings; the images made in Germany explore time and place in relation to Nietzsche by presenting locations such as his birthplace in Röcken and his deathplace in Weimar.
