Omslag voor een album met monumenten te Gent 1851 - 1870

This is an album cover of monuments in Gand, whose creator is unknown. The material has aged and shows signs of wear and tear. The damage to the edges creates a jagged frame around the central content, immediately destabilizing any sense of formal order. The album’s title is set within a light pink border. Inside, contrasting shades of black and grey typography create a visual hierarchy, leading the viewer’s eye from 'ALBUM' to 'MONUMENS DE GAND.' The typography signals a classical sensibility but the overall impression, however, is of something fragmented. These signs of degradation introduce entropy into a medium designed to archive and preserve. The cover invites us to consider how the materiality of the medium interacts with its representational function. The damaged edges function as a visual metaphor for the inevitable decay of both memory and monuments.