About a Melting Monolith
Yannis Konstantinos is an emerging photographer from Dortmund, Germany, currently in the process of graduating from the University of Applied Arts and Science. About a Melting Monolith is a project that encompasses 2021-2022 about personal reflection and awareness about masculinity and what stands behind it. The project is mainly in black and white and presents portraits of young men as if trapped in their environment. The struggle is between the normative definition of masculinity and the desire to break down the boundaries of the past and attempt to change the way it is perceived. Even though no answers will be provided, the themes raised and the solemn desire to bridge the gap between what was and will be, allow for hope.
The images of nature come as a motif for ever-evolving change and the possibility of a more promising reality. Yannis describes the work on the series as an “ongoing liberating process of getting out of a predefined box, in connection to the encounters with other men, who all have their process of dealing with their past, present, and future, but still move simultaneously inside an idea which was fixed before.”
‘The work is a reflection of and an observation on the existence of an inner, heavy, and harmful stone of an idea that is not formed by oneself but from the outside. An idea from another man’s mind.’
What is the central theme or the main question raised that you approach with your project About a Melting Monolith (2021-2022)?
First of all, thanks for having me! The project was born out of a change in my awareness about power dynamics within the way gender is seen and outlived. I did not really need to think about those dynamics like women, LGBTQIA+ people, or People of Color had to because I am part of a dominating, power-seeking group of individuals who take as much space as they want. I was having important conversations with mostly female friends about feminism, and at some point, I was asking myself questions: What does it actually mean to be a man? How do I portray my own masculinity?
The best way of doing that felt like I should have open conversations with men I'm surrounded by or inspired by through the way they outlive their masculinity. I wanted to link these conversations with portraits of those men. What fascinated me after the first few sessions was the intimacy and safety feeling this openness and tenderness towards each other and how different the process of portraiture felt than usual.
The work is a reflection of and an observation on the existence of an inner, heavy, and harmful stone of an idea that is not formed by oneself but from the outside. An idea from another man’s mind. What resulted was a poetic approach to those ambivalent emotions throughout the ongoing liberating process of getting out of a predefined box, in connection to the encounters with other men, who all have their process of dealing with their past, present, and future, but still move simultaneously inside an idea which was fixed before.
‘I feel that my queer and female friends and the talks with the portrayed characters showed me that masculinity is nothing fixed. That the place ‘in-between’ can be the most liberating one.’
Melting the ‘written in stone’ ideas and concepts dictated by society, which can have a negative impact, is a mission that preoccupies many of the more liberated minds. Which of the predefined ideas or limitations, in your opinion, is worthwhile working to liberate through art?
It feels like throughout the rationalisation of the world, which is closely linked to the idea of masculinity, there is a space ‘in-between’ which doesn't have a systemic worth because it cannot be found in numbers or cannot be connected to a specific definition. A space that is not really tangible, controllable. The whole topic of gender is closely linked to how we perceive the world and how much we tend to limit ourselves with a binary, mathematical gaze out of a heteronormative position. What I’m saying is nothing new from a feminist and queer perspective and has been said and thought about before, but mostly not by heterosexual, white men.
I think you can see there's a lot of fear inside this idea of masculinity and towards the lack of control you automatically get when you cannot categorise anymore or have power over other people. First of all, I'm thankful to people around me — who had to go through that process before — for helping me reflect on that. Secondly, I feel that my queer and female friends and the talks with the portrayed characters showed me that masculinity is nothing fixed. That the place ‘in-between’ can be the most liberating one. And with that, I don’t mean to conquer this place but take less space, sit down, listen to and learn from other people first, and then discover this place more sensitively. I guess everything that surrounds the artistic work can lead to a liberation inside the work itself.
‘As I rarely experienced this directional, intimate, and honest space with other men, I intuitively tried to challenge a more classical approach to portraiture, especially through the choice of black and white.’
The project is a combination of several powerful, solemn portraits done in black and white and images of nature and landscapes that, at times, bring color to the narrative. There is a contrast between hope, mostly through the suggested change nature brings, and hopelessness that comes through the thoughtful gazes of your protagonists. What was the guiding principle working on the images to create the narrative and eventually on the edit to present the story in the book format?
Walking blindfolded through power dynamics which I never really had to question because I was or am basically the one perceived as exercising this power on other groups of people. Realising more and more how massive my privileges are within a patriarchal society made me feel overwhelmed and also angry with society but also with myself. That's why I think I was automatically driven by those reflecting gazes that are observing an overwhelming and ambivalent world outside, which was not built by themselves, but they grew up inside of it.
As I rarely experienced this directional, intimate, and honest space with other men, I intuitively tried to challenge a more classical approach to portraiture, especially through the choice of black and white. Simultaneously I decided on a way, a more associative layer with inner and outer landscapes, which triggered something inside of me towards the reflection on this complicated topic. Instead of giving answers, my ambition was to let the viewers read between the lines. I wanted to have a form that has a beginning and an end for this selection of pictures. Although this process within this topic will never stop, it was necessary for me to find an ending to be able to look at it in a few months or years and remember the point where people in the book and myself were at that moment, kind of like a stop in-between.
‘There is also a kind of risk you are confronted with in the way that this theoretical and conceptual approach can lead to a massive overthinking. This is a kind of a paradox since taking a picture is one of the most intuitive things I can think about.’
How would you describe your main drive behind and the decision to enter the field of photography through education (theory) and practice?
There was always my dad's camera in reach since he is also a photographer. So I always had one in my hands, but it took a while until I got seriously interested in taking pictures. What drove me was a medium that offers an opportunity to take time for yourself, observe and discover new places and situations. I applied without thinking too much about it, and a few months later, I was surrounded by mindlike people. I think the university works as a safe space, a playground where you can experiment and get to know yourself. Society-wise, it takes a lot of pressure away since you are still moving in an academic system that people from the outside perceive as something worthy and necessary, out of a privileged perspective.
It's kind of like a safety net. And there's a huge impact if you're constantly confronting yourself with visual storytelling so that you learn how to read images. But the biggest plus is the fact that the studies can lead you to a lot of other fields like psychology, sociology, or philosophy because they can work hand in hand with telling a subjective story that isn't concretely about the image of the outside. On the other hand, there is also a kind of risk you are confronted with in the way that this theoretical and conceptual approach can lead to a massive overthinking. This is a kind of a paradox since taking a picture is one of the most intuitive things I can think about. I love that this medium and the studies introduced me to a new approach to reflection.
Looking back at your previous projects: Zerkalo, in which you research nature and the world; Station Square, devoted to the technical aspect of working with light and shadow; encounters (in the cave of the same), where you look to find an intrinsic dominating element to the tension between the self and the Other — About a Melting Monolith, seems to bring a combination of the learnings from the previous projects/researches. What are you working on today, or what will be the next theme?
Right now, I'm thinking about how to exhibit the pictures physically and in combination with the recorded conversations I had with the characters. I’m also thinking about extending the project through experimental video work. Besides that, it's interesting to see how one idea for a project leads to another. I'm slowly discovering what this 'in-between' could look like for me, but also how much of moving through society is linked to controlling. It is very ambiguous so far, but I don’t want to dig too much into it at the moment. If I fix myself too much beforehand, I feel like I will limit myself already within the work I produce.
