Casablanca, 2004, outside the Medina Possibly 2004 - 2014

Leo Rubinfien made this photograph, Casablanca, outside the Medina in 2004. It's a black and white image and the details emerge as a process of light and shadow, like developing a memory. The photograph has this incredible texture – you can almost feel the fabric of the woman’s headscarf. Look closely at the shadows under her eyes and the lines around her mouth. They tell a story, don't they? There’s a depth here, a kind of emotional weight that the monochrome intensifies. It’s not just about what’s there, but what’s been worn away, revealed, or left unsaid. The way the light catches the folds of her clothing, it’s almost sculptural. Rubinfien reminds me a little of August Sander, in the way he captures a kind of universal humanity in the individual. There is a feeling that art is always in conversation with itself. It’s never just one voice, but a chorus of echoes and responses across time.