Untitled (portrait of boy and girl in studio) 1944

Editor: This is an intriguing gelatin silver print by John Deusing, simply titled "Untitled (portrait of boy and girl in studio)." It's ghostly, almost like looking at a memory. What do you make of its ethereal quality? Curator: It feels like peering into a half-forgotten dream, doesn't it? The inverted tones give the figures an otherworldly presence. I see the formal attire, the boy with his cane, the girl with her bouquet. Perhaps a staged photograph, a memento of a special occasion? There is a beauty in the unreal. Editor: Memento is a good word for it. It's certainly a different way to capture childhood. Curator: Yes, the artist flips the script on traditional portraiture. It isn't about perfect likeness, but about capturing the fleeting nature of time and memory. Food for thought, isn’t it?