Wehrmacht soldaat op wacht 1941

This small photograph, 'Wehrmacht soldaat op wacht', shows two German soldiers. We don't know who took it, so the artist remains anonymous. It's a process in itself, this capture of a moment, but who is doing the capturing, and why? There's a starkness to the shades of grey, a kind of flattening that photography does so well. Look at the soldier in the foreground, his posture, the way he holds the rifle. It's all very deliberate, very posed. But there's a vulnerability too, in the way the light catches his face. That tension between control and exposure is what makes this image so compelling. The edges of the photograph are roughly torn, like a page ripped from a notebook. This small detail brings an immediacy to the image that reminds me of Gerhard Richter’s explorations of photography and painting. Art isn't about answers, is it? It's about asking questions, about making space for doubt and ambiguity.