Detachement Nanga-Pinoh, 1948 Possibly 1948

This collage, ‘Detachment Nanga-Pinoh’, was created in 1948 by Sergeant-Major Theunissen. It's a bunch of black and white photographs glued to a page, like a scrapbook. I find this page really affecting. The sepia tones of the print are really warm and comforting, at odds with the regimented rows of armed soldiers in the main image. This tension creates a kind of emotional dissonance, a space for reflection. Look how the light pours down between the palm trees in the lower photograph. The artist allows us a glimpse down that central path, inviting us in. This work reminds me a little of Gerhard Richter's 'Atlas', that incredible collection of photographs, sketches and notes that were the source material for his paintings. Both projects seem to share an interest in the way that we experience the world through images, and the way that these images shape our understanding of history. Artmaking is always about this conversation.