On the Verge

On the Verge takes Charles Baudelaire’s famous letter of 1859— in which he outlines his contempt for photography— as a starting point to explore the role that photography and art can and should play in shaping the future. Eight writers have composed letters responding to Baudelaire to entertain, provoke, inspire and empower.

Just as Baudelaire lived through an era of radical societal changes in politics, science, technology and culture, we find ourselves sitting on the edge of a new era. Confronted by the rise of artificial intelligence, the challenges of climate change, pandemics and genetic engineering, these letters invite conversation as we similarly inhabit the verge of a new age.

‘As the photographic industry was the refuge of every would-be painter, every painter too ill-endowed or too lazy to complete his studies, this universal infatuation bore not only the mark of a blindness, an imbecility, but had also the air of a vengeance.’ — Charles Baudelaire