The more I archive my everyday installation photographs, the louder this question gets: what are the ethics of this whole project?
Because the truth is: I’m photographing situations that do not belong to me. These installations are anonymous, often accidental and usually created by someone who never planned for them to be seen as “art.” Sometimes they might even be functional: moving boxes, stored materials, temporary fixes, or objects left behind for a reason.
And the moment I photograph them, I shift their meaning. I turn them into an image. I turn them into something that can be shared, archived and potentially exhibited.
So I started setting a few rules for myself.
The first one is simple: I avoid photographing people. If someone is clearly visible, the image becomes street photography, and that’s not what my thesis is about. It also creates privacy issues that I don’t want to build my project on.
The second rule is about intervention: I never move objects. Even if an arrangement looks “almost perfect,” I don’t want to complete it. My role is observer, not curator of the street. Otherwise the work would become staging and I would lose the whole point of researching found installations.
The third rule is about sensitivity. Some installations feel open and neutral. Others feel personal. If an object includes names, private belongings or something that feels emotionally loaded, I might still document it for myself, but I probably wouldn’t include it in a public exhibition. Not everything that is visually interesting should automatically become content.
What I like about this ethical question is that it connects directly to the core of my thesis: framing. Because the ethical dilemma is basically proof that framing is powerful. An installation changes the moment it is documented. It changes again the moment it is shared. And it changes again if it enters a curated context like a book or exhibition.
So instead of ignoring the ethics, I want to include it as part of my research. It is not a side issue. It is a sign that meaning is not neutral, and that the act of noticing already carries responsibility.
