Untitled (large group sitting in pews) c. 1949

Editor: This untitled photograph by John Deusing captures a large group of people seated in pews. There's a strange ghostly quality to it. What's your read on this image? Curator: It's a fascinating image. The high contrast gives it an almost dreamlike quality, or perhaps a memory struggling to surface. It evokes ideas of community and collective experience, but the reversed tones also create a sense of unease, a shadow self of togetherness, perhaps. Editor: A shadow self – that’s an interesting way to put it. Curator: What do you make of the figures in the front row – especially those sporting outfits that hint at sports? Editor: Now that you point it out, it is an interesting contrast with the formal setting. I wonder if this work explores the intersection of different facets of life. Curator: Precisely. Perhaps, in the end, it is about shared humanity, regardless of the role we play.