MEANT TO EXPIRE – by Florian Tenk
From my first glance at this developed film roll, I noticed immediately that something was wrong with it. I shot on newly bought colour slides and this roll had a strange tint that usually only happens when the film gets too old, expires or is improperly stored. Typically I hate when that happens as I prefer to show everything quite naturally. However, the longer I looked at them, edited and thought about them, I got quite exited about what it reveals about the material‘s own characteristics. The layers of chemicals, how it reacts to light, how it works in fact.
In regards to speaking about expiration and decay, I‘ve also noticed all those slight hints symbolizing expiration on the pictured content:
a dead branch in a vase, the disused power plant, leafless trees (as the last winter‘s leftover), the sunset and even the connection I had with the man on the pictures.
I got to know Stuart online, we liked each other‘s pictures and came to an understanding that we would love to work together. Months passed trying to figure out a date comfortable for us both until we finally had a chance to set up an appointment, when he could come from London to Munich, to meet and shoot finally. As I realize now, I had already thought about expiration beforehand, unintentionally. Given the fact we had just five days to work together, it was clear that I would see the results of our shooting sessions just after he left, with no easy way to try something again.
There‘s always a countdown. A decay. All the time. All things will pass. But isn’t it somehow the charm of life as well?
Photos by: @floriantenk / http://floriantenk.de
Model: Stuart @stuartchapman_