City Without Walls
Domonkos Varga is a Hungarian photographer whose research is based on the constantly evolving environment from the perspective of the impact on society and architectural landscapes. The immediate effect that emerges has to do with the immanent critique of modernization and the changes that occur with the individual on the deeper emotional levels.
Domonkos gained his BA and MA in Photography from the Moholy-Nagy University of Arts and Design in Budapest. With his latest series City Without Walls, which was presented in a solo exhibition in the Foton Gallery in Budapest, Domonkos explores urbanization that devours cities on a global scale and its relation to the human psyche and mental states. The series raises future-oriented existential questions that deal with juxtaposing the progress and growth of cities contrasted to the possible destruction of an individual within the urban landscape. Domonkos explains the initiation of the project, “At that time — besides self-reflection — I also started to examine how some deterministic systems around me contributed to my insecurities. At first, the city did not seem an evident symbol to me — I was more interested in forms of behaviorism.”
In this conversation, we discuss the process of research and the decision to focus on crowds in the city in an attempt to explore and present the vulnerability of the individual forming the masses. The place of an individual is questioned through the faceless crowds within the infinite skyscrapers in the background. Through the deconstruction of the city into elements such as bricks or architectural drawings and the deconstruction of the crowd by zooming in on a person, Domonkos strives to bring the viewer's attention to the importance of human well-being in modern civilization.
‘It took time to perceive how our urban living environment can be a center point of vulnerability and a manifestation of ideologies and principles that alter our ethological demands as a species.’
Hi Domonkos, we’re glad to present your recent project City Without Walls. How are you doing? What was the initial trigger that urged you to reconstruct the concept of the city and research it in connection to the population inhibiting it?
First of all, thank you for this amazing opportunity. Usually, my projects incorporate reactions to different inner frustrations, and this series was no different. I subconsciously started the development phase during the pandemic when I dealt with serious panic attacks and anxiety. At that time — besides self-reflection — I also started to examine how some deterministic systems around me contributed to my insecurities. At first, the city did not seem an evident symbol to me — I was more interested in forms of behaviorism. It took time to perceive how our urban living environment can be a center point of vulnerability and a manifestation of ideologies and principles that alter our ethological demands as a species.
Once I researched the psychological aspects of mass overcrowding, besides the critiques on capitalism and the current urban crisis, I found a unique topic worth investigating. I diversified my interest in sociology, psychology, and even philosophy. Finally, I gathered all the references from books and research papers into a workbook. I think this was the very start of what I refer to as my visual research — since the images were born with the evolving nature of this academic journey, and this process was very much organic.
‘Everything is designed to support mass consumerism and industries where human labor is the key puzzle piece: a resource.’
In this project, you work with metaphors to hint at the possible way to decipher the futuristic aspects of society, which strives towards urbanization, modernization, and globalization. The cities are modified to include infinite faceless skyscrapers, which, in turn, are visualized in harmony with the blended crowd in this project. What is the place of an individual, with their aspirations and dreams, in the faceless city in the future? What is the main fear?
What we often call futuristic or utopian (maybe dystopian) aspects are now our present. Despite the ambiguity that can be found in the more performative images, there are slightly topographic scenes that represent a more or less adequate state of our current progress. Much of my work had to do with visiting some vogue metropolises and taking on the observer role. When visiting these places, I felt like an outsider who stops in the middle of a moving crowd and starts to analyze his purpose in this order.
The intriguing phenomenon was discovering the small structural elements that contribute to social conditioning. These patterns are both visible in our architecture and infrastructure as well as in our social order. Everything is designed to support mass consumerism and industries where human labor is the key puzzle piece: a resource. Suppose we step back and analyze many of the urban environments around the world on a larger scale. In that case, most modern structures disregard proxemic behavior and human well-being in various ways.
The main issue is that we are so obsessed with the idea of progression and consumption that we subordinate everything to it, even our vital necessities, like a sense of community. In reality, it is visible how our economy and ideologies are embedded in our built environment, overtaking our life completely. I like the term you used as faceless. My biggest fear is that while getting lost in the swirl of capitalism, we adequately lose our humaneness. Because our only dream and aspiration will be the endless ways of consumption, and the physical hub supporting it will be our urban landscape.
You were born in Budapest and studied towards your BA and MA in Photography at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in this city. In what way does Budapest change with time, and what do you appreciate about it?
Although it’s not a major city, Budapest is expanding yearly. It is mainly due to the enormous problem regarding Hungary’s inequality in wealth distribution nationwide, which forces people to move from the countryside. They cluster in the cities because of the low income, hardships, and lack of opportunities. I know it’s becoming a worldwide sensation, but this is a reality here.
The social disparity in Hungary between the rural and urban areas is unsolved, especially compared to the European bars. Here, the interdependence on the city’s economic standards is crucial for the people to earn a minimum living. Hungary is very much a 'capital-centric' country in its infrastructural sense. Also, the number of expats, especially tourists, is steadily rising. Still, what I love about my city is the art and cultural scene on an underground level. Also, our heritage, that is still preserved in some forms.
‘What capitalism and determinism took away on an individual and collective level with the lack of alternatives is imagination. We must preserve this, and with my series, I aim to trigger conversations and debates.’
One of the statements you present with the work reads, “To seek answers, we must examine our own roles rather than questioning the existence of such systems.” While working on this project, what were the questions you wanted to get closer to answering? What was the methodology behind the project?
The huge question was, where am I standing in this? The deeper I got into analyzing the interconnected network of late capitalism, urbanization, and governance — the more I experienced the lack of fundamental alternatives to these systems on a mass scale. You can’t just change a society’s state of mind towards re-evaluating such a complex system, especially if it functions in a certain way. It all comes down to individuals initiating change, especially conversations about topics. For me, the biggest doubt is not the city’s expansion but how we can preserve collective awareness and empathy before becoming way too individualist and impressionable through social conditioning.
However, one thing is to criticize a system based on data and evidence from various fields of science; the other is to find solutions. What capitalism and determinism took away on an individual and collective level with the lack of alternatives is imagination. We must preserve this, and with my series, I aim to trigger conversations and debates. I vividly remember sitting at my solo show and listening to the personal dialogues of visitors about the artwork and the concept considering their urban experiences. Of course, no one knew I was the artist; probably, they thought I was guarding as a gallery assistant. Hearing their interaction with the work is worth much more than any achievement, exhibition, or feature. So at that moment, I knew it was worth continuing what I was doing.
What are you currently working on, and which concepts do you research?
I'm still in the phase where I'm wrapping up City Without Walls. After that, however, I started working on the early stages of a long-term project. I'm not particularly eager to disclose the conceptual specifics in such an early stage, but I can tell that it will evolve around nature's and technology's interconnectedness and yet interference.
