Incredible 2022 Astronomy Photographer finalist images 0:40
(CNN) --
After getting divorced and moving for the 11th time, Barbara Iweins decided to take stock of her life -- and everything in it.
He spent nearly five years documenting every item he owned, from loose Lego pieces and old key chains to remote controls, kitchen utensils and assorted trinkets.
The 12,795 resulting images offer an intimate, unfiltered portrait of the Belgian photographer.
Her approach, which includes a vibrator and a dental tray, is almost the antithesis of today's social networks, in which users control what they reveal to the world.
"Everyone tries to protect themselves by showing an idealized version of their life," Iweins explains by phone from France, where some of the images are currently on display at the Rencontres d'Arles photography festival.
"So I thought, 'Okay, I'm going to show it all; it has to be real.'"
Out-of-this-world images revealed on 2022 Astronomy Photographer shortlist
While photographing his possessions, Iweins sorted them by color, material, and frequency of use (from once a day to never).
His spreadsheet provided her with a wealth of information, both surprising and amusing.
Blue is the dominant color in her house, accounting for 16% of all items, while 22% of her clothes are black.
43% of the objects in her bathroom are made of plastic.
90% of the cables in her house are never used, and 19% of her books are unread.
advertising
One of the most unexpected findings was the abundance of metal combs used to remove lice from the hair of her three children.
"It's something we constantly lose, and I found I had six or seven of these things," she said.
"I was amazed at how much I was losing all the time and coming back to buy."
The photographic series "Katalog" by Barbara Iweins is the result of documenting each of the objects in her house after a divorce and a complicated period.
(Photo: Barbara Iweins)
The project has led the photographer to reflect on her own materialism and the consumerism of society in general.
She estimates that she spent 121,046 euros (about $124,000) on the entire contents of her home, although her inventory revealed that only 1% of her items had sentimental value.
However, she retains what she calls a "connection" to her thousands of possessions.
"It's a bit sad," he says.
"And I understand perfectly, because my friends are mostly travelers and they look at me with a bit of pity, but having (a relationship with my things) calms me down."
And although she confesses to being a "neurotic collector", the photographer does not consider herself a hoarder.
"I give away a lot, I don't buy excessively... I think I'm a normal person," she said.
"I know it's a lot," he added.
"But I thought it would be more."
Another example of the many articles that appear in Barbara Iweins' "Katalog".
(Photo: Barbara Iweins)
An act of "self-preservation"
In a new companion book to the series, titled "Katalog," the photographer sorts her possessions by type, with entire pages devoted to writing utensils, cleaning products, and toy animals.
When viewed en masse, the images take on a hypnotic graphic quality, revealing seemingly endless variations of everyday forms.
And though they are often mundane on their own, the individual images contain the stories of her life: the erotic novel she checked out of her father's library at age 16, the hospital bracelet she wore while giving birth, the anti-inflammatory medication anxiety that began to take at the age of 40.
Over the years, Iweins spent an average of 15 hours a week on the project.
Bringing order to chaos became a kind of "therapy" that helped her get through not only her divorce but the subsequent death of her boyfriend.
"When I started, I really thought I was exhausted from moving houses and moving my stuff," she says.
"And then I realized that it wasn't about that at all. It was more of an act of self-preservation: that doing something (for the series) every day was really organizing my life in my head. It was a positive process.
"Now that the project is finished and I have identified the objects that are valuable, I can start living," he added.
"Everything was there for a reason, I guess."
"Katalog" is on display at the Rencontres d'Arles photography festival until September 25, 2022. The accompanying book, published by Delpire & Co, is now available.
PhotosObjects