Codes esthétiques 0373, 2015

Konstantin Kornakov  

Everything we see around us holds a hidden aesthetic, and the artist's goal is to perceive it and set it free. Nothing is accidental in our world, where all objects possess not only a utilitarian purpose but also contain within themselves certain 'aesthetic codes.' Photographing sections of walls in today’s cities is an attempt to participate in the shift in perception triggered by the widespread urban phenomenon. Indeed, sidewalks and decaying walls may seem uninteresting at first glance. Yet, they are witnesses to the powerful forces of rapid decay at work in the cities.

The walls photographed by Konstantin Kornakov bear the marks of this ‘leprosy’ that covers the abandoned walls in certain corners of the cities. In a number of his images, one can distinguish such signs, which, though they appear to address no one, still bear witness to humanity's presence on earth. These are cracks, stains, uncertain patterns that, when viewed up close and enlarged, begin to speak our language, for it is we who have ultimately inscribed these signs.