Else Wachenheimer-Moos en met een onbekende vrouw op bezoek bij een onbekend echtpaar, juni 1934, Duitsland 1934 - 1936

This page from the Wachenheimer family photo album, was created in Germany in June 1934. You see the stark contrast of the black and white photographs, each carefully pasted with ornate borders. I’m drawn to the photograph second from the right at the top of the page, a group poses stiffly. What was it like to be alive then, in Germany, in 1934? The surface of the photos is smooth. You can imagine the album page as a kind of canvas, each image a brushstroke. The handwritten notes add another layer, a personal touch that transforms the album into a diary. What was the intention of the creator, were these pages made for themselves or for future generations? Like much art, this album embraces ambiguity. It is incomplete, which invites us to project our own experiences onto it. It reminds me of the work of Gerhard Richter, who also explores themes of memory and identity through the lens of photography and painting.