Nederlanders delen rijst uit in Jogyakarta Possibly 1948

This photograph, "Nederlanders delen rijst uit in Jogyakarta," was taken by the Associated Press. The grayscale is heavy, full of contrast, and it makes me think about how images can be created in the world, but also used to manipulate or obscure meaning. In this image, everyone is gathered, and there is a push and pull, a tension, between the crowd of people and the soldiers. The figures in the photograph are captured in a way that is both candid and composed. The textures are rich: the fabric of the clothing, the rough surface of the road, and the hard steel of the vehicle, all contributing to the atmosphere of the scene. I'm drawn to the figure of the child who stands out in the foreground: a visual focal point of vulnerability amidst the chaos. It makes me think of Jacob Lawrence’s series of paintings called Migration, which also used simple shapes and flattened perspectives to convey powerful narratives of movement and displacement. Art often holds multiple truths, and this photograph certainly does.