Photographer Barbara Evans lists all 12,795 items in her home. I found that

After the divorce and the eleventh move home, Barbara Evans decides to take stock of her life and everything in it.

Going from house to house, he spent nearly five years documenting everything he owned, from loose Lego pieces and remote keys to remote controls, kitchen utensils and various crackers.

The resulting 12,795 photos provide an intimate, uncovered portrait of the Belgian photographer. Its wart-based approach – its vibrators and rotten teeth among many personal items in storage – is the antithesis of today’s social media, where users keep a close eye on what they reveal to the world.

Among the most unexpected discoveries was the metal comb used to pull the headdress from the hair of her three children. “It’s something we lose all the time,” he said, “and I found that I had about six or seven of these things.”

The project persuaded the photographer to reflect on his materialism – and social use in general. He estimated that € 121,046 (approximately 4 124,000) was spent on all the furniture in his home, although his inventory revealed that only 1% of the items had any emotional value. Yet, it retains what is called a “link” among its thousands of features.

“It’s a little sad,” he said. “And I totally understand that because my friends are mostly travelers and they look at me with a little pity – but[eine Beziehung zu meinen Sachen]It gives me peace of mind. “

And although the photographer describes himself as a “neurotic collector,” he doesn’t see himself as a hoarder. “I give a lot, I don’t buy extra – I think I’m a normal person,” he said.

“I know it’s a lot,” he added. “But I thought it was too much.”

Verb “self-preservation”

Although she is often mundane in her loneliness, the singles contain the story of her life: a dirty novel she pulled from her father’s library at the age of 16, the hospital bracelet she wore at birth, or the anti-anxiety medication she took in her early forties.

Over the years, Iowans has spent an average of 15 hours a week on this project. Organizing chaos became a kind of “therapy” that helped her overcome not only her divorce, but also the last death of her boyfriend.

“When I started, I really thought I would get tired of going home and moving my belongings,” he said. “Then I realized it wasn’t about him at all. It was a job of self-preservation – that it was about doing something (for noise) every day to organize my life in my head. It was a positive process.”

“Now that the project is over and I have identified valuable things, I can start living,” he added. “I think it was for a reason.”