Manschappen 1940 - 1941

This anonymous photo album page, titled Manschappen, is a collection of black and white photographs, mounted on a grey page with white writing below each picture. The monochromatic palette feels stark and documentary, yet there's a softness to the images. Look at the edges of the photographs, the way they are rough and torn. This gives the piece a human touch. The writing too is informal, almost child-like. There is an unsettling juxtaposition of war and domesticity, which raises questions about the human condition. Is it an attempt to normalize the abnormal, or is there a sense of humour? The ambiguity is where the power lies. I think about Hannah Hoch, and the way she embraced collage as a way to critique social norms. This album page, in its own unassuming way, invites us to see the world differently.