"Dorie 7-57" 1957

"Dorie 7-57" is a vintage photograph of a young girl, made by an unknown artist. There's a particular kind of flatness to old snapshots; the world reduced to shades of gray. Here, the tonal range is really compressed, as if the camera is struggling to pull detail from the shadows. It's a bit like memory itself - how some details sharpen over time while others fade away. Look at the way the floral wallpaper merges with the child's form, the patterns almost swallowing her whole. And her posture - is she hiding, grieving, or lost in thought? That ambiguity resonates with the anonymous nature of the work, inviting us to project our own stories onto the image. It reminds me of Moyra Davey’s images – those intimate, melancholic portraits, each one folded and mailed, worn down by time and touch. Ultimately, the photograph remains an open question, a testament to the fleeting nature of time and the enduring power of the image.