barbara iweins spent two years photographing and classifying all 10.532 objects in her house

in the ‘katalog’ project, barbara iweins shares photographs of all the 10.532 objects in her house, isolated and classified according to specific criteria. for two years, 15 hours a week, the belgian photographer spent time in voluntary isolation, documenting all her possessions as an experiment to help her face the value of her belongings in total honesty. 

overview of the objects on the ‘katalog’ website

all images courtesy of katalog-barbara iweins

‘in april 2018, when opening the last of the moving boxes, I was confronted with all my belongings once again,’ notes barbara iweins in the ‘katalog’ project website. ‘it made me question the continuous cycle of my insane and irrational accumulation and the relationship I have with the objects that surround me. the real value that I assign to them (their necessity, their familiarity, their rarity, their oddity…), the feelings they fill me with, the ties that connect me to them, so much so that I need their presence, physically or mentally.’ therefore, in order to come to terms with everything she owned, iweins spent 15 hours a week for two years, photographing all the 10,532 objects in her house. she then classified everything according to specific criteria, such as material, color, frequency of use, and emotional value. objects by frequency: never

in making ‘katalog’, iweins deliberately isolated each object on a neutral light grey background to take it out of its environment and discover its true value to her. additionally, the photographer set some limitations while going through the process, deciding not to photograph certain things such as fixed things in the house, food, two-dimensional objects, separate parts of a whole, or more than 30 of the same objects. 

‘during my voluntary confinement, I read a lot about the search for material happiness,’ explains iweins. ‘over time, I realised that most of my possessions are more a source of confusion than pleasure. I feel little attachment to them, but at the same time, isolating my possessions (even the most ordinary one) and classifying them according to specific criteria, gives them an importance and a certain subjective beauty. as such, even a bottle of cough syrup that leaks down the sides develops an aesthetic interest that I would like to retain. I hoped to say goodbye to many things, but ended up loving so much more of my belongings.’

objects by material: fabric

barbara iweins is a belgian photographer who has started her artistic career in amsterdam where she has lived for a number of years. a collector since a tender age, she continues to classify, gather and archive her photographic subjects according to strict criteria. iweins plans to present ‘katalog’ in 2020/2021; in the meantime, you can see more of the project here.

objects: ‘what I would save in a fire’objects by room: living

objects by color: pink

objects by color: black