Archeologische opgravingen in Hongarije 1928

This photograph, Archeologische opgravingen in Hongarije by Jan Lanting, kind of flattens everything into a soft, muted world, but it's full of activity when you really look. The surface texture, almost sandy, dominates the foreground, dotted with these dark, mysterious holes. You can almost feel the dry earth under your fingers, that subtle grit. Then there's a structure in the background, but its function isn't clear, so the whole scene is a little bit ambiguous. It reminds me of those landscapes in old movies, where everything blends together. That cluster of holes in the lower right, they're almost like a little constellation, pointing to something we can't quite see. It’s hard to really say how the site functions. It is this ambiguity, this openness, that makes the photo so compelling. Like a Cy Twombly painting, it feels both precise and kind of wild.