Nikita Teryoshin returns with another great book in 2024. The German artist continues his typological studies following his award-winning long-term project Nothing Personal (GOST) on private arms dealing fairs. Nikita is the master of working on short—and long-term projects that keep him moving. This strategy is excellent because it allows short-term ideas to become books, filling the space between the more complex ones that take longer.
With O Tannenbaum, the focus is on the age-old ritual of the Christmas Tree, its use, and abuses. On the outside, it is a hilarious investigation into the endings of the annual Christmas tree. Something about traditions being literally heaved out the window makes the work comical as trees land on the sidewalks from a multi-story apartment drop. From here, the abandonment of the trees becomes more apparent, with trees lined up on sidewalks but also disregarded, dumped like bodies along motorways and wayside spots without so much as a ceremonial burial. They become items of inconvenience despite the humor of their withering presence in the piss and dirt-flecked snow. The study is typological, as the object does not take precedence. It is not relegated to an analysis of an object’s minute differences or similarities but rather a survey of the situations they find themselves in.
Of course, there is a more extensive discussion about capitalism and how our society uses and abuses nature, throwing all matter of inconvenient objects out when it has been used up. The death of European tradition could also be brought into the discussion. Still, I cannot take these more serious discussions on with as much glee as I do the absolute absurdity of the flight of the Christmas trees from a great height. Murder is everywhere if you look for it; in this instance, it is sadly hilarious.
The book’s cover is phenomenal for several reasons. This is not to put down Nikita’s brilliant flash-drenched and saturated photos. Those are also killer, but with the simple design mechanism, the cover is something I very much relish in this book. First, the cover photograph is positively dystopian. With the smokestacks in the background, the trees in the foreground take on a forensic quality, as if a body has been found along a post-industrial landscape. Second to this, and in direct opposition, is the font and gold-leaf title, which speaks directly to the Christmas industry. It uses the language of Christmas cards, decorations, and festive Christmas carol energy. It continues Nikita’s dire and hilarious use of conflating elements to get to the punchline. It continues the hot streak the artist finds himself on, and again, some levity in the photobook world is much needed. Highly recommended for ideal Christmas presents and presents to self alike.
