Bostjan Pucelj
Kingdom of Mankind
Kingdom of Mankind
‘Kingdom of Mankind is a series of photographs of denizens of our planet, their habits, customs, ceremonies but most of all of their everyday life. I am not interested in who they are or in the way they operate. The essence is their (unconscious) subordination to the modern system, which is a system of order, lists and records and compartmentalisation. We are no longer men, Slovenes, handsome or disabled people. All individuals captured in the photos are equal. There is no prejudice on racial, sexual or age groups.’
What matters are them wearing a number. What dwells behind this number is a story which usually remains a mystery or we can simply invent one or dream about it. When I was a child I bought chocolates which had pictures of animals enclosed in the packing. Every animal species had its own picture and number. When I gathered the whole animal kingdom I received an enormous parcel of sweets. However, in this game I won’t be getting a big box of chocolates but an album of endless imaginary stories. This series contains 100 photographs, from number 1 to 100.