"This is the one when I was asleep. I had been in the hospital almost a month so I look kind of worn down. This picture does not do my room justice. It was all in pink and blue. I had a French telephone beside my bed on the radio that doesn't show up..." c. 1930s

This is a vintage photograph taken by an anonymous artist of themself asleep in a hospital bed. It's a small, sepia-toned print, tinged with the intimacy and vulnerability of a self-portrait. I feel for this artist - I can imagine them propped up, weak, carefully framing this shot of themself, trying to capture this moment in time. The soft light on their face, the crisp white sheets...they evoke a sense of quiet fragility. The title gives a sense of the circumstances and the artist's state of mind when creating this piece. It reminds me of the work of other photographers who use the medium to document personal experiences, like Nan Goldin or Francesca Woodman, who are not afraid to reveal themselves in their work, to show the messy, complicated realities of life. This photograph is a testament to the power of art-making, a timeless conversation in which artists use their own experiences to make something meaningful. It reminds us that art can be a form of survival, a way to make sense of the world and our place in it.