Fuli, Guangxi, China 1991

Lois Conner made 'Fuli, Guangxi, China’ with a large format camera, and the tones in this piece really speak to a patient and iterative process. The greyscale in this print feels so physical, like a kind of skin. It reminds me of that feeling when you're in a place where time feels suspended, and all you can do is observe. The surface has an almost velvety quality, doesn't it? The way Conner captures the light filtering through the trees creates this soft focus, which invites you to linger. See that tree in the foreground? Its branches reach across the frame like arms, drawing you into the scene. There is a real sense of depth in this photo, and it gives you the sense that you are really in that space. The stillness of this image recalls the work of Hiroshi Sugimoto, who uses photography to explore temporality. Like his seascapes, Conner's photograph isn't just about what’s there, but about how we see, and feel our way through an image.