Brandstofloodsen in aanbouw. (Mei 1926.) 1926

This photograph, ‘Brandstofloodsen in aanbouw’, was taken anonymously in May 1926. What strikes me is the ephemeral feel. It’s a black and white image, but it’s the shades of grey that sing, the infinite possibilities of light and shadow. The image presents a scene in progress, 'fuel sheds under construction,' but it's the texture of the process that I find myself drawn to. The skeletal structures of the sheds, like delicate drawings against the sky, feel like the marks of a brush. Look how the light plays on the open framework of the building. It reminds me of the way Agnes Martin used to draw grids, not as an end in themselves, but as a way of mapping out a space for something else to happen. Maybe this photo, too, is about creating a space, a space for interpretation, for the play of light and shadow, for the ever-changing dialogue between seeing and feeling.