Bouw van een woonhuis 1914 - 1919

This photograph, titled 'Bouw van een woonhuis', captures the construction of a house, and was made by an anonymous artist. What I find interesting here is the way the light and shadow play across the scene, creating a layered effect that speaks to the passage of time. The sepia tones give it a nostalgic feel, like looking at a memory. There's a textural richness here, from the rough-hewn timber to the sandy ground and the smooth walls of the building. My eye keeps returning to the unfinished roof, the latticework of beams against the sky. It's a very raw, structural element, but it also hints at the potential of the building, of the space it will become. The boy sitting by the sand is maybe the most intriguing element of the piece, as he is not working, but watching, thinking, and maybe pondering what this building will become. This photograph reminds me a little of the stark simplicity of Bernd and Hilla Becher’s industrial landscapes. It feels like a study, a document, but also an invitation to reflect on the processes of making and building, both physical and metaphorical. Art, like architecture, is always a work in progress, a continuous construction.