South America and Spain 9 1948

This is Robert Frank's ‘South America and Spain 9’ – a photographic contact sheet. It’s like looking at the artist’s mind at work. I imagine Frank, his eye pressed to the viewfinder, chasing moments, unsure of what he’s really after, but compelled to keep searching. He shoots a roll of film, maybe two, and then wrestles with the results in the darkroom. Each frame offers a slightly different take, a variation on a theme. It’s a kind of dance between intention and accident. It’s fascinating to see these outtakes, the near-misses, and the moments that didn’t quite make the cut. We're catching a glimpse into the artist’s process, the push and pull between what he saw and what he wanted to say. Each frame is a little world, a story, a fragment of a larger narrative. As a painter, I love seeing the world this way, in fragmented and blurred glimpses, like thoughts half-formed, always becoming.