From Angel Series, Roma, September 1977 1977

Curator: Francesca Woodman captured "From Angel Series, Roma, September 1977" when she was just nineteen. The small, square photograph depicts a figure in an interior space. Editor: My immediate reaction is one of haunting. The blurring of the figure and the starkness of the setting evoke a sense of transience and uncertainty. Curator: The figure, cloaked in what appears to be a white sheet, is a recurring motif in Woodman's work, often interpreted as a symbol of vulnerability, transformation, or even the soul. Editor: The composition is key here. The doorway frames the blurry figure, creating a layered effect. The sharp lines of the door contrast with the figure's ethereal quality. Curator: It is also interesting how she uses the angel as both a form of disguise and revelation, masking and unmasking simultaneously the model's identity. Editor: Absolutely, and it reflects back on the photographic process itself as a kind of "revealing". It is haunting, as though the image is about to disappear. Curator: Ultimately, I feel the photograph confronts us with our own sense of mortality and the fleeting nature of existence. Editor: I concur, and the materiality of the gelatin silver print enhances this sense of the ephemeral, of a moment captured and fading.