Vijf foto's van een reis naar de Elzas 1927

Curator: Carolina (Loentje) Frederika Onnen’s “Vijf foto’s van een reis naar de Elzas,” dating from 1927, presents us with a page from what appears to be a personal sketchbook or travel journal incorporating mixed media and photography. It has such a story to tell just visually. Editor: It absolutely does. My first impression is one of faded memories, like holding a tangible moment from a bygone era. The sepia tones and small format—it almost whispers secrets of a simpler time. I am so drawn to it Curator: Yes, the "aged paper," and "muted color palette," certainly evoke nostalgia. The page incorporates five albumen prints, likely personal snapshots from Onnen's trip, each captioned with handwritten notes detailing locations like "Sainte Baume," "Kaysersberg," and "Le lac noir." It’s a fusion of personal experience and artistic documentation. The handwriting provides additional historical insight, a charming informal reflection of Onnen's experience and the specific Elzas locations. Editor: It’s amazing how handwriting makes everything feel intimate, like you are discovering the secrets held within the location. As I glance around the sketchbook, it has an intriguing, scrapbook-like arrangement of snapshots with handwritten captions beneath the photographs creating an interplay of visual and textual memories. Curator: It is more than an aesthetic presentation of location it's like creating and controlling the image the general public get to see, very much a tool for impression and to curate specific experiences for public eyes. A control for image circulation. I see also an act of self documentation. The act of touring then photographing. A social statement, or act for the bourgeois? A memory saving process of status showing and control in the sense that by keeping only this memories in particular we omit or hide from self and/or from the world things, experiences, faces and places. Editor: True. As a creative act it might also be a selection. It’s fascinating to think about which stories she chose to capture and immortalize through photography and carefully written descriptions. As artists we do leave parts of our lives on paper, and by that also create room for more by not thinking of these. Curator: Very true. Ultimately, this sketchbook page encapsulates not only a journey through Alsace but also the subjective act of documenting and curating memories. Editor: It is true, you can even glimpse Onnen herself, standing near architectural structure with a calm aura around her and the pictures as a whole. For me it's more than a preservation effort, I'm almost reminded of the idea of "The Gallery of the Self" of making it and reflecting it so well it almost feels real.