Untitled 1992

This is an Untitled photograph made by Thomas Roma, a picture fixed onto a sheet, probably in a dark room with some developer and a stop bath. I see a young woman in profile, maybe in church, and I wonder what she’s thinking? Is she listening to the preacher? Or is she miles away, maybe dreaming of love, or just thinking about what she’ll have for dinner? I like the way Roma has framed her, between the pew and the wall. The lines of the pew give it a sense of depth, and the textured wall is like a geometric grid. But it's the sign on the wall that really gets me, like something from another time: “These things come by praying and fasting.” I suppose it’s all about faith. Roma is like a fly on the wall, recording life as it is, but he’s also making a composition, using light and shade to create a mood. It’s a quiet, contemplative image.