Dip|Tychs explores the unstable space where meaning is invented, not found. Drawing from the visual tradition of diptychs—historically used in religious, narrative, and comparative forms—this project reimagines the format as a site for dissonance, misdirection, and interpretive tension. Each work consists of two photographs placed in close proximity: an encounter rather than a sequence, a confrontation rather than a conclusion.
The images themselves are fragments of everyday life—unremarkable objects, textures, gestures, signs—captured without theatricality or overt symbolism. What elevates these elements is their pairing. Juxtaposition becomes a catalyst, provoking the viewer to search for a connection, a cause and effect, a before and after. The diptych format encourages narrative, yet no narrative is provided. Instead, viewers are asked to complete the story themselves, often with incomplete or conflicting information.
The titles introduce yet another layer. Often puns, idioms, or culturally loaded phrases, they function like captions without clarifying the content. Instead, they destabilize it. Language becomes a lure—a way of steering perception while undermining any singular reading. This interplay between word and image invites both humor and discomfort, often in the same moment.
At the core of the project is an interest in pareidolia—not only the tendency to see faces in clouds or animals in stains, but the broader human compulsion to extract meaning from chaos. Just as we map constellations onto random stars, we draw stories from proximity, inventing coherence where none may exist. Dip|Tychs leans into that instinct, exposing both its richness and its fragility.
There is no linear theme across the images—no chronology, no geographical unity. The diptychs are assembled from across time and place, curated not for content but for the friction they create in combination. This allows the work to remain fluid, continually open to reinterpretation. As contexts shift, so too does the viewer’s reading: an image that once felt comic may later feel ominous; a pairing once absurd may suddenly seem prophetic.
Dip|Tychs resists explanation. It thrives in the unresolved gap between images—what happens not within a frame, but between two of them. It treats the diptych not as a window into meaning, but as a mirror reflecting the viewer’s own need to make sense of things. In that way, the project isn’t just about photography. It’s about perception, projection, and the deeply human habit of connecting the dots—even when they don’t belong to the same picture.
Essay written: May 2025
