Op de veranda van Heerenstraat 18 in Paramaribo. 1913 - 1930

Theodoor Brouwers made this small glass slide, a photo of a veranda in Paramaribo, at an unknown date. I love how this image feels both intimate and distant. The almost ghostly light, the way the scene is captured, it's all about a moment. It feels as though the women in white dresses have paused for a moment. The texture of the photograph itself – the grainy quality and the way the emulsion has aged – adds another layer of time. Look closely at the details – the fronds of plants, the way the light catches the white cotton of the women's dresses, the wicker of the rocking chairs. These details pull you into the scene, inviting you to imagine the sounds and smells of this place, the heat, the insects, the murmur of conversation. I am reminded of Félix Vallotton, a Swiss and French painter and printmaker active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who like Brouwers, used the process of printmaking to create a sense of intimacy and invite the viewer to share a space with a subject or group of subjects.