Gezicht op een werkplaats voor het snijden en inpakken van albums in Frameries before 1906

This small photograph shows a workshop for cutting and packing albums in Frameries, though we don't know exactly when it was made or who made it. The palette is pretty much monochrome and yet you can see how the composition is cleverly structured to show an active scene. Look closely and you can almost hear the sounds of the album-making process: the rhythmic cutting, folding, and packing. It's a busy place, full of human activity, each figure rendered with a quick mark. The texture of the photo is slightly rough, giving the image a timeless quality. The marks describing the individual workers, their faces, and their bodies, are small and gestural, creating a sense of bustling activity. This piece reminds me of the work of early social documentary photographers like Jacob Riis, who captured the gritty realities of urban life, though it seems to focus on a more humane scene. Here we have a record of how things were made, a glimpse into an almost forgotten process, where imperfections and ambiguities are embraced as part of the creative process.