Untitled (from the series Still Water (The River Thames, for Example)) 1999

This is one of Roni Horn’s photographs from her series Still Water, which focuses on the River Thames. I like to imagine Horn on a boat, or perhaps on one of the bridges, patiently observing the river’s surface. She is capturing the flow, the swirls, the light reflecting on the water. It’s like she is trying to paint with a camera. The color palette is muted, almost monochrome, giving the image a timeless quality. I wonder what she was thinking as she framed each shot. Was she thinking about the history of the Thames, the life it has sustained, or the secrets it holds? There is an intentional ambiguity here; an openness that allows for multiple interpretations. Like the paintings of Turner or Whistler, Roni Horn’s photographs of the River Thames show us how a single subject can offer endless possibilities for seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world.