Bezoek aan de Wereldtentoonstelling te Antwerpen, oktober 1930 Possibly 1930

These photos of the 1930 Antwerp expo, pasted into an album, are really about ways of seeing and experiencing the world. The anonymous photographer documented grand pavilions, structures designed as temporary fancies. It’s not about the thing itself, but about its effect. The material aspect of this album page is interesting. The black and white photos present a stark contrast with the gray page, creating a sense of depth and shadow. The architecture itself looks like a stage set, carefully composed to evoke feelings of awe. I keep thinking of the little fountain outside the French Pavilion, with its tiny plume of water, like a breath held then released. The contrast between the image and the album's materiality—that is, the paper and glue—reminds me of the work of Gerhard Richter, who also explores photography's relationship to painting. It's a dialogue between image, object, and memory, never fixed, always in flux.