250_Ko, the book

The object : technology icon from the 2000s In the 2000s, Nokia released the 3310, a phone that became one of their bestsellers and most popular worldwide. Known for its toughness and resistance to shock, it became (ten years after its release) a technological icon of the era. Then, about four years ago, Nokia gave the phone a second go, reissuing a more contemporary and ergonomic version, which included limited internet access and a camera. Moved by the need to get away from modern technology and its subsequent addiction, Luke and Lena both purchased the reissue of the 3310. This technological stepback allowed them to reduce their phone use to two basic functions: communication and photography. Lofi images Through its low quality, pixelation, grain, over-exposure, delay, and premature wear of the lens, the distinct pictures created by the 3310 seduced and captivated both artists quickly. A certain freedom emerged from the phone’s simplicity and its inability to rework pictures. There was an unbridled freedom of randomness and spontaneity, as opposed to the total control of all parameters we experience with modern-day smartphones. Playing with the lack of depth; blurriness; saturation; and over or under contrast and exposure, the pictures show unexpected textures, along with unreadable shapes and colours. As they chose to present the pictures in their raw states, without any cropping or adjusting, the duo understands the potential of these images’ mediocre quality, for the way they accentuate a distinct singularity and strangeness. Shot between 2018 and 2021, these photographs act as an alternative documentation of our lives, from the distant to the intimate. They highlight specific aesthetic choices and themes, such as the absurdity of the mundane; street poetry; scum poetry; floating landscapes and unreadable textures; and anecdotes sitting in between drama, tenderness, and the uncanny. Shaping this book was a process of gathering – from sorting out thousands of pictures to pairing them, along with a colorimetric classification leading to the layout. 250_Ko plays with similarities and differences in composition, material, shapes, and atmospheres, all leading to photographic chaos – an irregular rhythm highlighting and questioning the very interest of these lofi pictures. The objective 250_Ko sees the 3310 as an alternative tool, allowing an escape from the digital world and its current modus operandi. It is a critical object working outside the scope of constantly evolving devices. Making a photography book from these pictures is on one hand a way of using and hijacking the productions of an object that was not designed to create interesting content. On the other hand, it is a way of questioning the possible use of a phone so behind the times. In the manner of filmmaker Jacques Perconte – who voluntarily exploits the distortion of his video files and whose optical and visual work might allude to impressionist and post-impressionist painters – Lena and Luke wish to use the lofi quality of these tools to explore the pictural power of the final images. Recognising the potential of these pictures is a way of asking contemporary aesthetic and phenomenological questions, such as what is the legitimacy for these low-quality photographs? And, how can we receive them, look at them, understand them? 250_Ko proposes some answers to these questions while also allowing these peculiar pictures to move and interact with one another. The book's characteristics The book bring together four years of archives and is produced under Acédie58. It will be composed of 250 lofi photographs, format 112,5 x 150 mm.