Zhuxuanlu, a concept in Communist China, describes a central melody of life in which variation is allowed only within politically and morally acceptable limits, preserving productive harmony. By contrast, the United States prizes individualism but is still shaped by the groups, communities and social forces that forge identity.

Eli Durst’s photographs explore these dynamics, concentrating on how institutions and unseen pressures mould people. Over several years, Durst has recorded young individuals, from kindergarten to university, taking part in group activities such as Bible study, ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps), school plays and dance recitals. He did not set out to focus on suburban American youth, yet was drawn to their honesty and openness as they tried on identities and searched for belonging.

The images probe the tension between individuality and group interaction, the risks of conformity set against the rewards of community. They spotlight the vulnerability and curiosity of young people, not yet hardened by age, as they navigate their place in the world. Through this series, Durst examines the subtle balance between margin and centre, belonging and independence, and the transformative power of collective experience.

Artist Bio:

Eli Durst, born in 1989 in Austin, Texas, studied American literature and history at Wesleyan University before assisting the photographer Joel Meyerowitz and training as a fine-art printer. He earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from Yale School of Art in 2016, where he received the Richard Benson Prize for Excellence in Photography.

His series ‘In Asmara’ won the 2016 Aperture Portfolio Prize, and his monograph ‘The Community’ (2020) received special mention at Rencontres d'Arles. A second monograph, ‘The Four Pillars’, was published in 2022.

Durst now works as an editorial photographer for leading publications and teaches at the University of Texas College of Fine Arts.