Verwoeste huizen na bomaanval Possibly 1940

This photograph of destroyed houses after a bombing was taken by Polygoon, we don’t know when exactly, but it’s a document of a moment. What strikes me is how the photograph itself has this immediate quality, despite depicting such ruin. The contrast is stark, the tones ranging from dark shadows to bright, almost blown-out highlights, especially in the sky glimpsed through the destroyed structures. It's a document, of course, but there's also an intentionality here. Look at the detail in the textures - the splintered wood, the crumbling brick, the rough edges of the debris. It reminds me of the work of photographers like Lisette Model, who found beauty in the everyday, even in scenes of destruction. There's a rawness, an immediacy, that transcends the subject matter. It’s like a conversation about how we see, what we choose to focus on, and how we make sense of the world around us.