Untitled (two women looking at wedding cake) 1958

Editor: This is an untitled photograph by John Deusing, showing two women looking at a wedding cake. It's hard to tell the date, but the picture behind the cake seems to depict a colonial scene. What's your interpretation of this, considering the historical context? Curator: The photograph presents a striking juxtaposition, doesn't it? The romanticized colonial backdrop, the wedding cake, and the gaze of the two women invite us to consider the narratives of power, privilege, and exclusion that often go unacknowledged within celebrations of marriage and nationhood. Editor: So you're saying the photograph is challenging us to think about the darker side of these seemingly innocent images? Curator: Precisely. Whose stories are being told, and whose are being erased? It's a powerful reminder to critically examine the symbols and histories we inherit. Editor: I see what you mean. It makes you wonder about the women looking at the cake, and what they are thinking. Curator: Yes! This photograph opens up a conversation about how history is framed and the responsibility we have to engage with it critically.