Spoor en een spoorbrug over een rivier in de Anaikloof c. 1891 - 1912

This black and white photograph of a railway bridge in the Anai Gorge was taken by Christiaan Benjamin Nieuwenhuis. Looking at this image, it's like peeling back layers of time, seeing a moment captured, but also a story hinted at. What strikes me is how the photograph is so tonal, a mix of shadows and light, which speaks to the physicality of the world – the textures of the trees, the worn tracks, and the bridge itself. The eye is drawn to the bridge, a stark structure against the organic backdrop, this is the perfect mix of geometric rigidity with the raw spontaneity of nature. The photograph feels like an Edward Hopper painting, with that same sense of isolated beauty. I think that in both cases this reveals a similar embrace of ambiguity and the multiple stories that might be read into a single image.