Plantage Accaribo 1913 - 1930

This stereo photograph, Plantage Accaribo, was made by Theodoor Brouwers with gelatin silver print. It feels like looking into a memory, doesn't it? I'm really drawn to the way the blacks and whites work together. See how the stark contrast almost flattens the space, pushing the depth of field? It's like the scene is right up against the surface of the photograph. I wonder what kind of effect Brouwers was aiming for when he made this piece, and if he was aware of how this approach to light and dark would shift the whole feeling of the scene. There's something mysterious about the two figures standing in the field, their features obscured by the darkness. It makes you question their story, their place in this strange landscape. It almost feels like something you might see in a Gerhard Richter painting – that same blending of clarity and ambiguity, the way a scene can feel both familiar and distant. That sense of ambiguity is something I really appreciate in art, it leaves space for all sorts of stories.