Op de officiële receptie van de Nederlandse Regering op 25 Augustus in de Ridderzaal waren de gedelegeerden ter R.T.C. in de gelegenheid kennis te maken met tal van prominente figuren in Nederland Possibly 1949

This photograph documents the official reception of the Dutch Government on August 25th. The dark hues and grainy texture suggest a moment captured, rather than constructed. There’s a density here, like a swarm, it feels almost abstract until you let your eyes linger and figures start to emerge from the mass, and the hall’s architecture begins to materialise. The monochromatic palette adds to this flattening, as if these people are compressed into a single plane. Look at the way the light falls, or doesn't, on the individual faces. There’s a push and pull between anonymity and individuality, reflecting the push and pull between the crowd and those individual figures. It reminds me of some of the black and white photographs of crowds by Lisette Model, which also capture that sense of being lost in a sea of faces. Art isn't about pinning things down, but about keeping the conversation going.