The PHOTO OP series — to which SEMIOVOX has invited our semiotician colleagues from around the world to contribute — analyzes photos that we’ve snapped while “off the job.”

A weekend in London got me thinking about maximalism and chaos. Ugly cute, not-quite-neatly ordered objects.

London (July 2025)

A platter of Belgian chocolate mushrooms at Harrods food hall. I loved the way some of the mushrooms had joggled themselves around to show off their stumps. Craftmanship meets entropy.

London (July 2025)

We may have reached peak Labubu but I couldn’t resist capturing this wall of ugly cute monsters. Part rabbit, part elf, totally inescapable.

Edinburgh (July 2025)

Back in my neighbourhood of Stockbridge, Edinburgh, there was something so pleasing about these vials of beads and buttons in the window of vintage reseller Skout. They look neatly ordered at first glance but were all slightly different shapes and sizes.

PHOTO OP: Mariane Cara (Brazil) on LA LUCHA CONTINUA | Aiyana Gunjan (India) on YAMRAJ | Greg Rowland (England) on I ❤️ FOOD | Gabriela Pedranti (Spain) on NOT SO TRIVIAL | Biba Allarakia (Saudi Arabia) on ALL THAT GLITTERS | Brian Khumalo (South Africa) on A LOST MEMORY | Becks Collins (England) on A MILLENNIAL ON THE BRINK | Samuel Grange (France) on SLOW DOWN | Rachel Lawes (England) on DESKTOP COLLECTIONS | Marie Lena Tupot (USA) on BOX OFFICE | Sónia Marques (Portugal) on SWISS-NESS | Serdar Paktin (Turkey / England) on BOTTLE SERVICE | Stefania Gogna (Italy) on OPEN-AIR MUSEUM | Charles Leech (Canada) on IS IT IRONIC? | Kishore Budha (England) on DOWN THE TUBE | Josh Glenn (USA) on JOINED AT THE DIP | Mark Lemon (England) on SHOP LOCAL | William Liu (China) on SWAN SONG | Malcolm Evans (Wales) on CHOCOCRACK | Paulina Goch-Kenawy (Poland) on POLAND’S NEW (HI)STORY | Adelina Vaca (Mexico) on WHAT’S YOUR POISON? | Natasha Delliston (England) on NATURE BATHING | Ramona Lyons (USA) on DEATH TO TECH | Ximena Tobi (Argentina) on TODO PASA | Victoria Gerstman (Scotland) on UGLY-CUTE ENTROPY.

Also see these global semio series: MAKING SENSE (Q&As) | SEMIOFEST SESSIONS (monthly mini-conferences) | COVID CODES | SEMIO OBJECTS | COLOR CODEX | DECODER (fictional semioticians) | CASE FILE | PHOTO OP | MEDIA DIET.