Valencia, Spain 20 1952

This is ‘Valencia, Spain 20’ by Robert Frank, but when it was made, that’s anyone’s guess. I love that! Here we have a film contact sheet, an intimate part of the photographic process, usually hidden from view. Frank's work has this amazing off-the-cuff feeling, as if the images are bursting with a raw energy. It’s like, the world’s messy, and he’s just trying to grab a piece of it. The texture of the film grain, the scratches, the dust – these are all part of the story, aren’t they? Look at the handwritten number ‘20’ scrawled across one of the frames. It's so immediate, so personal. It reminds us that artmaking isn’t just about technical perfection, it’s about human touch, about feeling your way through the world. Frank reminds me a little of Garry Winogrand. Both were interested in the poetry of the everyday, in those fleeting, seemingly insignificant moments that make up the fabric of our lives. It’s like they’re saying, hey, look at this! Isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t it strange?