Zagreb Possibly 1943 - 1947

This page from an anonymous album contains gelatin silver prints of Zagreb, mounted on card. The photographic process itself involved a complex interplay of materials: silver halides sensitive to light, gelatin to bind them, and paper to support the image. The darkroom work was highly skilled, but also increasingly industrialized. Photography democratized portraiture, previously the domain of painting, but also altered social relations. The album format is crucial here; a personal collection, carefully assembled. The act of pasting these images onto the grey card is important as it is a common practice that enhances its meaning and highlights the social context of the photographs. It becomes more than the sum of its parts. Consider the labor involved in the paper production, chemical manufacture, and the photographer's craft, and that of the person assembling the album. This object speaks to both individual memory and wider social conditions, reminding us that even seemingly simple images are the result of extensive production networks.