Norbert en Willem van den Berg met een gezelschap, waaronder Jan Boon, bij een tent in Zuid-Afrika 1967 - 1971

Editor: So, this gelatin-silver print, attributed to Willem Jacob van den Berg, and titled "Norbert en Willem van den Berg met een gezelschap, waaronder Jan Boon, bij een tent in Zuid-Afrika" from between 1967 and 1971... I’m struck by how informal it feels for a portrait. Like a candid shot. What jumps out at you? Curator: Ah, yes, the staged candour. The essence of a perfect moment frozen in time, or rather, carefully constructed. I see not just a gathering but a narrative woven into the very fibres of the silver. There's the juxtaposition of man versus nature. The vehicle. What tales could it whisper of adventure and exploration, but look also to how that canvas tent merges somewhat within the dark forest background: a perfect snapshot. How might our subjects here, have really felt during this ‘adventure’? Editor: That's fascinating! I hadn’t considered the narrative element so much. So it's like the vehicle, the tent, they’re all signifiers of... something beyond just the scene itself. Do you think it is meant to convey their role and how these subjects want to remember their roles and relationships? Curator: Precisely! Consider the context, a post-colonial lens perhaps. What does this 'safari' into the bush really tell us beyond surface level activity? Does that motor vehicle denote control, mastery, access, ease? A home from home even? A photographic performance carefully balanced between documenting a journey and self-mythologizing it. Almost a snapshot from a film-set rather than the honest and hard reality! Editor: So, it’s both a portrait of individuals and of a particular mindset at that time, and in that location... That really gives me a lot to think about. Curator: Indeed! A beautiful piece ripe for deeper inspection and interpretation; which reminds us that every snapshot and moment contains more beyond what the bare eyes may consider!