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Degradation
(2024)

Through the use of macro photography, Degradation puts small moments of wear on display. Instances of this destruction, often missed day-to-day, provide an abstract connection. As humans, the only guarantee we are given is our death. The world around us is just as fleeting, and its decay is accepted. Whether a part of the natural landscape or man-made, the subjects of the photos reflect the age and transformation of materials, like that of skin loosening and wrinkling. 

faded and curling sticker
worn door and hinge
rusted metal sheet with a graffiti tag
dented and flaky metal on wood
sewer grate with plastic
old metal circle on stone
chipped yellow concrete block
dirty snow
cracking wooden window frame
wet shiny leaf
rusted heater with white paint splotches
flaked metal bench
rusty bolt
squished mustard packet on sidewalk
metal with ash
dog poop on the sidewalk, one half in focus
support sticking out of cement wall
rusty handrail
chipped cement wall
old torn wires
old wood and screw
crshed water bottle on sidewalk
exposed wires
rusty metal machine
water damage on painted wall
rusty arm rest on bench
broken box
wires and peeling paint
salted metal pole
half drank wendy's cup on sidewalk
rusty chain
half broken plastic sign
chipped cement wall
pole with old staples
close up of a brick wall
chipped paint on parking meter
moldy bread through plastic
fibers coming out of concrete wall
rusty pole
rusty metal doorframe with cobwebs
pole with bent screws
rusty metal and bolt
cracked bicycle seat
scratched pumpkin
rusty chain link
torn paper on metal
cigarette butt
faded sign reading "coins no dolla"
faded sign reading "delica"
sign reading "ten" with a faded letter E
dirty zyn pack
chipped and faded emblem reading "keep it clean! drains to delaware river"
key nailed to a pole with "love" stamped into it
paper in a protective sleeve stapled to a pole, reads "philly exotic flower"

© 2026 Ian McMillan

no images may be reproduced without explicit permission from the artist

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