Antarctica Exhibition, Kunstshalle Wien, 2018

Buck Ellison’s pictures are reminiscent of stock photography: readymade shots marketed by specialized agencies for use in advertising campaigns and as illustrations in printed matter or for websites. Perfectly composed images in saturated colours neatly fit into instantly recognizable categories: “lifestyle,” “community,” “success.” They are nondescript and virtually identical visual products in which the principle of optimisation is applied to all elements, though care is taken that the interventions enhancing reality are never too obvious.