Gezicht op de Westzeedijk te Rotterdam met rookwolken op de achtergrond c. 1940 - 1945

This photograph of Westzeedijk in Rotterdam by J. Nolte captures a moment frozen in shades of grey. The tones suggest a study in contrasts – a kind of balancing act between the solid structures of the buildings and the ephemeral, billowing forms of smoke rising in the background. What strikes me is the texture Nolte coaxes from the monochrome. Look at the way the light catches on the edges of the smoke clouds. The photograph almost feels like an abstract painting, with areas of dark and light pushing and pulling against each other. There is a tension here, isn't there? A sense of something monumental and terrible happening just beyond the frame. This image reminds me of Gerhard Richter's blurry photographs turned paintings. Both artists play with the ideas of memory and perception. They are interested in how we make sense of the world through imperfect information. Art invites us to embrace these ambiguities, to find meaning in the spaces between what we know and what we feel.