Medical Examiner, City of San Francisco Possibly 1992 - 1994

Jim Goldberg made this photograph, Medical Examiner, City of San Francisco, and he's captured a moment, a place, using light and shadow like a painter would use colour. The grayscale here isn’t just absence; it’s a presence, a mood. Look at how the light catches the edges of those steel tables, all set up for the business of understanding what happens to a body. Goldberg isn't holding back – he wants you to see the textures, the coldness of the metal against what you can only imagine is the softness of flesh. There's a calendar on the wall, a stark reminder of time passing, and a list of organs, grounding the ethereal nature of existence to a simple inventory. There’s something of Diane Arbus in the way Goldberg looks, unflinchingly, at what others might turn away from. He's not just showing us a room; he’s inviting us to contemplate mortality, to think about what it means to exist, and then not to. It's a stark, beautiful reminder that art can be found in the most unexpected places.