Jongens van de Jeugdstorm in het gelid met de Nederlandse vlag Possibly 1934 - 1935

This photograph, "Jongens van de Jeugdstorm in het gelid met de Nederlandse vlag" by the NSB, is an artifact of a very specific time and place. The limited grayscale palette gives it a stark, documentary feel, and the way the subjects are arranged, it’s clear that the image is as much about power and control as it is about representation. The flatness of the image, combined with the composition, creates a tension – a push and pull between the graphic and the representational. There’s a strange beauty in the way the tones blend together, how the figures emerge from the background as shapes and forms. What strikes me most is the texture – or lack thereof. The absence of a painterly hand, or any kind of visible mark-making, creates a kind of void, a surface onto which we can project our own fears and anxieties. It reminds me of some of Gerhard Richter’s blurred photographs, where the lack of detail becomes a way of engaging with difficult histories. Ultimately, this image invites us to consider the uncomfortable questions around collective identity and the dangers of conformity.