Untitled 1980

This untitled photograph was taken by Ursula Schulz-Dornburg, a German artist born in 1938. Often working in series, Schulz-Dornburg has photographed landscapes, border regions, and architectural structures. The photograph shows a watery landscape, and the sky seems to press down on the scene with the weight of whiteness. The tall reeds and marshy growth are mirrored in the still water, which creates a sense of both serenity and entrapment. Schulz-Dornburg is known for using photography to document places on the margins, spaces that have been forgotten or are in transition, and which often exist at the edges of society. The image here, like many of her works, presents the viewer with a scene absent of human presence, and the quiet stillness evokes a sense of solitude and contemplation. Ultimately, this photograph encourages us to consider the relationship between the human-built world and nature, while meditating on themes of memory, loss, and the passage of time.