In Alien Phenomenology, I discuss exploded views as one example of ontography, the cataloguing of being. Most exploded views are technical diagrams rather than, but some are aesthetic compositions that can be quite striking.

Now there’s a whole book full of the latter kind. The Canadian photographer Todd McLellan dismantles everyday objects, then carefully arranges and photographs them. He’s collected a series of them in Things Come Apart: A Teardown Manual for Modern Living. Here’s an example.

published June 3, 2013