Mäabo 1903 - 1910

Hendrik Doijer made this photograph, Mäabo, sometime between 1863 and 1925. The composition is split, as if by a knife, into two almost equal parts. The top half is a tangle of trees and buildings on a hillside; the bottom, a reflection on the water. Look at the textures: the smooth, glassy surface of the water, contrasting with the rough foliage and the sharp edges of the buildings. The monochrome palette enhances this contrast, emphasizing the tonal differences between light and shadow. Notice how the reflections are not perfect mirror images, but slightly distorted, blurred as if the water is breathing. It reminds me of Gerhard Richter's paintings in their blurred, hazy focus. The image feels strangely unstable, a world on the verge of dissolving. I love the way the artist embraces the ambiguity, allowing the scene to exist in this in-between space of shifting forms.