Thoughts of Life and Death 2000

Tom Hunter made this photograph, Thoughts of Life and Death, and the way he uses the colour and light, it's like he's painting with the camera. It's all about capturing a fleeting moment, you know? Look at the light as it catches on the train rushing past, blurring it. The long grass in the foreground, those vertical lines, they feel so tactile. And the young woman standing in the middle of it all, so still, almost disappearing. It makes you think about being present, being in your body. The greens and yellows against the pale sky create a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere. There's a rawness to it, a sense of place. It reminds me a little of some of the early Impressionists, like Monet or Pissarro, but with a contemporary edge. It’s a beautiful reminder that art, whether it's painting or photography, is always a conversation, an exploration, a way of making sense of our world.