Lycien-David Cséry

Cracks and Dents

High-Gloss Finish and the Charm of the Flaw

Traces of use are considered defects that detract from the original quality of an object or product. We tend to actively ignore small dents or flaws as though they did not exist, and try to airbrush scratches and smooth out peculiarities. For his photographic series Cracks and Dents (2016–2018), Lycien-David Cséry (b. Tarmstedt, Germany, 1985; lives and works in Buchenberg, Germany) studied these imperfections. The focus of his shots is on the traces of wear on various vehicle bodies, which he photographed primarily in Los Angeles, the car city par excellence. The title of the series is a reference to American “crack and dent sales,” where slightly damaged goods are sold at a discount. Cséry documents a remarkable diversity of textures, shapes, and colors in car parts whose surfaces are marked by rust, oxidation, dirt, or paint spalling.

Published in this volume, the series Cracks and Dents reveals the beauty and singularity of the defect, which a trained eye can discover everywhere. With an essay by Julia Meyer-Brehm.