THE COMMUNITY by Eli Durst, Morel Books

10.2 × 11.8 in
80 pages
Hardcover with perfect binding
First edition

“I cut out some photos that I thought were successful, because they felt too jokey and undermined the project as a whole. But humor is still a part of the work. The statement at the end of the book about “a world that both demands and resists interpretation” alludes to a certain absurdity in our pursuit of meaning. When I started making these photos in graduate school, I gravitated towards funny Americana-type subjects, like bingo for instance, but I quickly realized that I wasn’t satisfied making ironic photos. I also didn’t want the pictures to become overly sappy. The tone of the project changed a lot as I was making it. I tried to learn from the pictures.” 

—Eli Durst from an interview with Aperture

What began as an initial desire to photograph the insides of church basements quickly expanded into a much broader series examining the fundamental search for community in America.The activities depicted range from Boy Scout meetings to New Age spiritual practices to corporate team building exercises and were all made in multipurpose community spaces that are ubiquitous throughout the United States. I became intrigued by the way one activity bleeds into another, creating a symbolic space of communal introspection. Put simply, these photographs are about the search for purpose and meaning in a world that both demands and resists interpretation.