Das Grüne Ohr 2016

In Elina Brotherus's photograph 'Das Grüne Ohr', the model is captured wearing a button-down shirt, its deep green mirroring the single green earplug that gives the image its name. Light gently floods the attic room, illuminating the white walls and wooden floor, creating a subtle tension with the shadows lurking in the eaves. The textures here are muted – the soft fabric of the clothing, the smooth walls, the grainy wood – each element contributing to an atmosphere of contemplative stillness. It’s the earplug, though, that really grabs me. A small, almost comical intrusion of artificial colour, it disrupts the natural palette and invites a narrative. Is it a barrier, shutting out the world? Or a receiver, tuned to some unseen frequency? Like in the photographs of Candida Höfer, Brotherus frames a quiet moment of interiority, hinting at deeper emotional layers beneath the surface. We are left to wonder, and to listen for ourselves.