5700 x 3800 jpeg photograph. Performers Hugo Faz and Leandro Soares. The main collection of 13 photographs for Agony of Eros exists on Solana: https://exchange.art/series/edit/tXPvOq0rhnRn0Azgyh3k/live.

"The Agony of Eros" photo series is a profound visual exploration that parallels Byung-Chul Han's contemplation on contemporary malaise. The monochromatic images convey the stark, barren landscape of modern intimacy, when the omnipresence of technology leads not to connection but to the erosion of desire and a sense of communal burnout. The tension in the raw, unedited photos — the contorted bodies striving to connect amidst the emptiness of an abandoned apartment — captures the agony of failed eros, of seeking touch in a touch-screen world. This is a society in which the hypercommunication promised by digital proximity results in an emotional disconnect, leaving individuals languishing in solitude.

In these frames, the raw human form is juxtaposed with the desolation of disused spaces, a metaphor for the internal void that Han describes — a yearning for connection that technology cannot satiate. The series doesn't just depict detachment; it is an embodiment of the sorrow of the modern soul, caught in the paradox of being superficially connected yet deeply alone. Each photograph is a silent scream against the digital wind, an artistic confrontation of the burnout society's cold embrace.

Inspiration:

“From lack of rest, our civilization is ending in a new barbarism.” — Nietzsche

This collection is deeply inspired by the performative theater play "Fool's Gold", my first performative theatre script, which was in itself a response to the provocations found in Byung-Chul Han's critical works. This interplay of performance and photography aims to visualize the silent crisis of connection described in "The Agony of Eros" and "Burnout Society" — where the hyper-connectivity of digital media leads to a profound disconnect at a human level. The photos, originally staged for the play, transcend their performative origins to become standalone narrations of this theme. By capturing the tension and almost palpable emotional distress of the performers, the series invites viewers to confront the unsettling beauty in disconnection and the visceral struggle for contact in a world where intimacy is often mediated by screens.