Untitled (Woman at piano with male "ghost") c. 1900

This photograph, of unknown origin, presents a vignette of domestic life frozen in sepia tones. The composition centers on a woman in a white dress, seated at a piano, her form a study in soft curves against the rigid lines of the instrument. The photograph is structured by a play of presence and absence. The woman is undeniably there, yet her identity is obscured, her face turned away. Then we notice what we think is a 'ghost' behind her in the mirror: a blur of male presence disrupts the scene, hinting at a narrative just out of reach. This interplay challenges our perception of reality, blurring the lines between the tangible and the spectral, and highlights how photography could explore the transient and the unseen. What we find is a fascination with surface and depth, presence and absence, that unsettles our understanding of representation itself.