Locomotieven op spoorwegemplacement Heerlen Possibly 1930 - 1934

This set of photographs of Locomotieven op spoorwegemplacement Heerlen are pasted onto a page, maybe from a sketchbook or a scrapbook - the artist is anonymous, but it feels so personal. I can imagine them carefully choosing which of their images to place where in order to create some pleasing visual rhythm and maybe even imply a narrative between them. There’s a practical element to photography that I respond to as a painter. I think about all the technical decisions made by the photographer in terms of framing and lighting, and then the decisions about how to present the work that happens after the shot is taken. Like the placement of a line in a painting, each image feels weighted, considered. The artist brings together these fragments to construct a whole new way of seeing. Maybe the way we put things together is who we are.