De havenindustrie in Southwick bij nacht c. 1920 - 1940

This is a black and white photograph by Ripley called 'The harbor industry in Southwick at night'. The dark contrasts and tones in this picture remind me of charcoal drawings, where the artist coaxes form out of shadow, and light emerges from the depths. Look at how the skeletal scaffolding is picked out by these bright spots of light. The artist revels in texture. The dark water in the foreground has a velvety flatness, which enhances the jagged textures of the industrial structure behind. The reflections on the water’s surface are smudgy and blurred. It’s interesting how this image evokes something that is simultaneously solid and in a state of construction. It makes me think of Bernd and Hilla Becher’s photographs of industrial buildings, but here the feeling is gothic and dreamlike. It feels like the work of art embraces ambiguity, prompting us to wonder at what point industry becomes something monstrous.