Untitled (from the series Still Water (The River Thames, for Example)) 1999

Roni Horn made this photograph as part of her series Still Water of the River Thames. There's a delicate dance happening here. The color palette is almost monochromatic, a symphony of grays and browns, mimicking the way light plays on water. If you look closer, you will notice how the texture of the water's surface is so meticulously captured. It's almost as if Horn wanted to freeze the ephemeral. See how the light dances across the ripples, creating an ever-shifting pattern. There’s a small twig or debris floating at the top of the frame, acting as an anchor in this sea of flux. This reminds me of Hiroshi Sugimoto, another artist who captures the essence of water, but Horn brings something else. There's a stillness and a subtle melancholia in her work, a quiet observation of the world that invites us to ponder the depths beneath the surface. Art doesn’t have to shout to be heard, sometimes it whispers.