Twee jongetjes 1900 - 1922

Robert Julius Boers made this stereograph of two young boys sometime in his lifetime. I wonder where he was when he took it? Stereographs like this one, with its creamy, sepia tones, were really popular as domestic entertainment. You’d look at them through a special viewer, and the double image would pop into 3D. So this scene of two young boys in what looks like a tropical setting becomes something almost touchable. What was Boers hoping to capture? You can imagine the boys, maybe brothers, pausing in the heat to have their picture taken, their clothes white and bright against the dusty road. Boers has captured a moment of stillness in their lives. And somehow, across time, we’re invited to step into the scene with them. Looking at this image, I am reminded that artists are always in conversation. This work opens up a space for us to reflect on the world, both its past and its present.