Repetition is what makes something interesting

I know you saw this, but did you really see it?

The dumbest of things become interesting if you do them enough times. Then that dumb thing becomes a project, and a project gives you an excuse to keep doing the dumb thing. If you’re lucky, you might even end up getting some praise for it.

That is one of the things I learned in photography class. Well, my takeaway, I should specify. What I mean by this is: 

A single photo of an everyday item is nothing special. A toothbrush or a stapler pictured on a plain white background would not stop you in your tracks. But do it with every single item in your house. Go room by room, drawer by drawer, like Barbara Iweins did. Photograph every single hair tie, every spoon, every lego piece, safety pin, sock and underpants. Then place them in a neat layout. Now they’re no longer just pictures of items. Now, as a whole, they tell a bigger story. A story about society, consumption, and human beings.

By repeating something you essentially say: look at this, there’s something here. You cast a spotlight on a detail and draw attention to its significance. You say: I know you saw this, but did you really see it? Did you truly get it? Look at it again. It’s important. 

Zooming in is zooming out.

Hands. Eyes. Grocery store lines. Stand on a busy street and photograph people’s shoes. One or two or three won’t tell much, but take a couple hundreds or thousands and people will start thinking. They’ll lean closer. Look for the larger narrative. As human beings we are wired to search for patterns and similarities – for meaning. It feels good to connect dots. To make sense of things.

I’m using photography as an example, but I believe this goes for anything: repetition is what makes something interesting.

Watching the same film over and over. Doing a little dance move every single morning. Reading the same book. Walking the same path. It’s not really about the act itself, but what it reveals. It makes us ask: why? What makes them do that? What part of the person does it reflect? What about it captures someone so? If you listen to the same song a 100 times over, what does that say about you? About the song?

It’s ultimately a statement about yourself. It shows your devotion and persistence. What you value. What you fear. What you find so important that you want it over and over again. It’s an act of love.

I find that there’s a richness to it. Habits. Routines. Rituals. You look at the same thing and it transforms, notice details you didn’t see at first glance. Suddenly it sheds a different light. Echoes. Blooms.

Repetition is on purpose, it’s not just some beautiful accident.

And it can be hard. Perhaps that’s a factor. Because it does take effort, and we don’t think people put effort into meaningless things. So we pay attention, we think: “wow, that must have taken a lot of time and willpower, let’s see how it went”. If someone cares about something we want to see why. We want to understand it. See if it’s something we can care about too.

The dumbest of things become interesting if you do them enough times. If you’re lucky, you might even end up getting some praise for it. Like Ghozali, who took a selfie sitting in front of his computer every day from 2017-2021, then put them up for sale as NFTs and became a millionaire. The photos were not good, it’s the repetition as a whole that made them interesting. To see the changes in appearance over time. To essentially witness a life slowly going by.

If you enjoyed this, I’d love to know! Your support not only helps other people find it, but also truly makes my day. Feel free to to leave a like or a comment, share or subscribe, or come say hi on twitter :) Also, if you get this by email, just hit reply.