What are your 3 favourite objects?

AUTHOR – Sven Durst
PUBLISHER – Berlin Photobook Distribution
LANGUAGE – English
PAGES – 86
DIMENSIONS – 210 × 297 mm
WEIGHT – 440 g
BINDING – Softcover
ISBN – 9791198291912

What kind of connections do we, as people, have with objects?
What lies behind the process of emotionally and symbolically charging material things?
Which objects are most precious to us — and why are we more attached to some objects than others? What do these objects reveal about ourselves?

This research explores these questions through a series of interviews.

The idea was to choose 11 people to interview and set four guidelines for myself:
• The number of strangers and friends interviewed must be equal.
• Each person is asked the exact same question.
• I visit each person’s home and photograph both the person and their objects in their “natural habitat.”
• I take exactly four photos per person: a portrait, and three objects. All photos are taken on film.

While the guidelines came together quickly, taking action proved more difficult than expected.
Stepping into someone’s personal space—especially when our first meeting was the interview itself—pushed me far outside my comfort zone.
Each time I entered a new flat, a thousand questions rushed through my mind:
What kind of stupid project is this? Where is all this going? Will this be weird? What if we don’t connect?

I soon realized that asking “What are your three favorite objects?” led to surprisingly open and intimate conversations.
To me, these objects became like doors—doorways into people’s lives and stories.