Vijfmaster 'Maria Rickmers' in het Albert-dok van de Tanjong Pagar Dock Co. Ltd. in Singapore before 1905

This photograph of the 'Maria Rickmers' ship in Singapore's Albert Dock was taken by G.R. Lambert & Co., and it’s not just a record, it's a study in lines. What strikes me is the detail, but it’s the detail of light playing on form, a choreography of lines. The rigging is a filigree against the sky, each rope and spar carefully rendered. You can almost feel the tension in the lines, the pull of the sails that are not there. Then the hull, heavy and solid, a dark mass in contrast to the airy web above. Look at the way the photographer has captured the texture of the ship's hull, the way it absorbs the light, and the way the surrounding docks are rendered in tones of light and dark, solid and in place. I think of Bernd and Hilla Becher who photographed industrial structures in a similar way, using a similar tonal range and with the same commitment to detail and the power of repetition. This feels like the beginning of that conversation. It's not just about a ship, it's about seeing, about how we construct our world through images, always changing and evolving.