Hoarder Order

In 2014, Thomas Kuijpers purchased a painting depicting the iconic pre-9/11 Twin Towers in New York City, inspiring him to begin collecting images and objects of the towers in an effort to trace the visual representation of politics via this landmark scene. Hoarder Order gathers a range of materials depicting “before” and “after,” now infused with alternate meanings—tourist memorabilia, newspaper clippings, screenshots, movie posters, postcards, and other vernacular material—in a small yet densely elegant 560-page book. Each object is isolated on a page or fills the spread, taking the viewer through a visual timeline of events that resonate outward from the semaphore of these now iconic buildings. The images are printed on Bible-thin paper that allows the viewer to experience a layering of signs, creating a visual metaphor for both what comes next and what has already happened. Susan Meiselas states, “These are the pages of our destiny unfolding, and we can go back and forth—wishing we could return to a different time.”