Park in the centre of town, Gabela, Angola 2008

Curator: Guy Tillim’s photograph, "Park in the centre of town, Gabela, Angola," captures a scene that feels both familiar and distant. Editor: It’s hauntingly beautiful, isn't it? The way the light filters through what’s left of the playground, and this building looming behind. Curator: Tillim, born in 1962, often explores post-colonial landscapes and the marks left by history on urban spaces. This image resonates with those themes. Editor: Absolutely. It’s as if time has stood still, or perhaps moved on and left this place behind. There is this sense of absence and memory. The Toyota sign is the oddest thing. Curator: The "Toyota" sign, a ghostly echo of commerce. It’s a sharp reminder of globalization's reach, but also its fragility in the face of social and political upheaval. It also makes me think of car trips to the park. Editor: Right? There is something deeply poetic about that juxtaposition—a once-vibrant space holding these layers of personal and global history. Curator: Precisely, a layered photograph that asks us to contemplate the intersection of play, commerce, and history. Editor: A space where a child's laughter might have once echoed, now replaced by a profound, lingering silence.