Caribbean Sea, Jamaica 1980

Curator: There’s an almost meditative quality to this piece. It's Hiroshi Sugimoto's "Caribbean Sea, Jamaica," a gelatin-silver print from 1980. Simple, yet profound. Editor: My first thought: it feels endless. A horizon bisecting the frame, balancing darkness and light. A void but, like, a *beautiful* void. Curator: Sugimoto’s Seascapes series often evokes that feeling. The photograph captures a meeting point, a seemingly infinite expanse, that resonates across cultures. We are asked to grapple with nature itself, and humanity's place within it. It asks viewers, 'what does 'seeing' really mean?'. Editor: The even horizon has such strong symbolic implications. Water often represents the unconscious, the place we all come from; in contrast, the sky signifies the world of spirit, consciousness, possibility, the future... I could lose myself in it for hours. What do you think it has to say about art history, considering Sugimoto's position? Curator: Considering Sugimoto emerged within the late 20th century art world's increased conceptualism, it makes us re-think traditional landscape's role as picturesque scenery. The gelatin silver print gives a softness which is set off with the almost graphic quality of the even distribution of light and water. It makes the viewer confront modern anxieties surrounding human perception and the place of "nature". Editor: Absolutely. And looking at it now, there’s a yin and yang quality to it. A perfect duality, harmonizing opposite elements. Even in the gradations of grey, a subtle balance is found. Do you find a place for nature and humanity here? Curator: I would say it positions nature as the site to consider ourselves and human understanding, as well as its limitations, and our history. This starkness invites reflection of a grand scale; not of Jamaica specifically but, perhaps, about any place where water meets sky. A sublime experience available anywhere, always. Editor: So true! And in an increasingly image-saturated world, perhaps this monochrome simplicity functions as a visual detox. I feel calm now; less caught up in the complexities of daily life. Curator: I agree. Its starkness also offers a lens for considering contemporary themes concerning climate and rising sea levels.