Verweer, weathered, decay, resistance to deterioration, rusted, paint peeling off, persistence. Humans are expendable, yet we create things that outlive us on a daily basis. Ruins, iron monsters, boats the size of buildings, buildings the size of cities. One day you and I will be gone, but our footprints will be there for others to see.
Walking in Houtbaai's harbor, I was struck by the symmetry and simultaneous decay. Decaying symmetry. Symmetrical decay. We live in a world of immense beauty, even weathered objects.
In my home language of Afrikaans, verweer, or weathered, can mean a lot of things. Resistance, weathered, amongst others, always stands out for me. pieces of corroded metal seem to resist weathering, it resists decay, it still wants to exist.
In this post, I share with you a series of photographs I took of the harbor and its various decaying or weathered objects. I always love the symmetry we humans create. In this post or series of photographs, I bring into play the symmetry and weathering of things. If you look deep enough, you will see the immense symmetry in life. Please enjoy the photographs and the essay as usual below.
Verweer / Weathered
On the Resistance of Deterioration
The obsession to leave something behind, the obsession to be remembered. Humans live in a perpetual mode of resisting deterioration and loss, of not being remembered. Humans live to be remembered, yet, they never ask: by who? Who do we want to be remembered by when we are living in the same breath as if we are the only people alive? We burn fossil fuels at such a rate that people in the future will not have any left to burn. We are a society that lives against the resistance of decay but who actively promotes decay in our actions. We burn down the forest to let our cows graze to feed our growing population yet we want to promote future generations' growth.
We resist deterioration and decay by creating mega structures so that we will not be forgotten yet we destroy nature in the process so no future generation will marvel at our creations.
We write books to tell stories, we write books to remember our history. Yet, everything is written on paper, soon everything will go up in flames. The last book will be burnt for fuel, and the last word of the philosopher will mean nothing when the stomach of the reader is screaming for food.
Postscriptum, or An Abrupt End
The ocean swallows those that look too deep, like Nietzsche, starring into the abyss you will see the ocean swallowing you. Intrusive thoughts, poets walking to their death, the ocean decays but always continues, wave after wave. Never-ending.
I hope you enjoyed these photographs and musings. I hope you are well. All of the photographs are my own, taken with my Nikon D300 and 18-70mm or 50mm lens. The musings are also my own. Happy photographing, stay well.