Untitled (from the series Still Water (The River Thames, for Example)) 1999

Editor: Here we have Roni Horn's "Untitled (from the series Still Water (The River Thames, for Example))" made in 1999, it’s a photograph of the Thames. It has this captivating stillness and a certain darkness. How would you interpret this work, focusing on its visual elements? Curator: The photographic composition arrests the flux of water into a field of tonal and textural relationships. Consider the stark contrast, nearly bisecting the plane: the upper-left’s reflected light against the opaque density of the right. Horn invites contemplation on formal dichotomies: light/dark, fluid/static, representation/abstraction. Editor: The darkness on the right is particularly interesting, it is not fully black, but textural with lines of light reflecting within the depths of that field. Does this suggest that what is unknowable is knowable? Curator: It disrupts a simple reading. That side, ostensibly “dark,” displays an intricate network of light-play, creating its own language. Horn seems to present not absence but a concentrated presence. Does that presence also speak to themes of Romantic sublime or trauma? Editor: I did not consider it could be evoking Romanticism, it feels like I am on unstable footing trying to interpret this. How much does the concept inform the final composition? Curator: Here, conceptual framework operates intrinsically with form. The serial nature of Still Water emphasizes the instability of perception; each image refines the viewer’s reading of photography’s inherent duplicity and realism. One photograph shifts meaning when viewed with another. Editor: So, it is not necessarily about accurately representing the Thames but deconstructing our understanding of photography? I never thought about water being conceptual! Curator: Indeed. The objective reality dissolves, leading the viewer to grapple with semiotics, materiality and, therefore, experience. Editor: It is compelling to reconsider familiar imagery as a field of layered concepts. Curator: Absolutely, and the interplay continues to resonate through thoughtful examination.