Acht meisjes in klederdracht, op de rug gezien 1920 - 1940

G. Hidderley made this photo of eight girls in traditional costume somewhere, sometime, with a camera. The sepia tones are so muted, it’s almost like looking at a memory. You can almost feel the sun-bleached quality of the light, and the way the forms are softened reminds me of early photography's struggle to capture reality. I am thinking about how a photograph, much like a painting, is always an interpretation, never just a mirror. Look at the subtle differences in the girls' dresses and the way the light catches the folds of their skirts. There’s a real sense of movement and life there, even in this still image. I love how this work makes me think about how we see, and what we choose to remember. It reminds me a little bit of some of the group portraits by Paula Modersohn-Becker, but with an added layer of historical distance. It is a great reminder that art is always in conversation with itself.