Brother and Sister, Jamaica 1973

This photograph, Brother and Sister, Jamaica, captures an intimate moment. Herb Robinson invites us into the tender world of childhood. It’s the textures that grab me first: the smooth skin, the soft fabric wrapped around the child’s head. Look at how the light catches the planes of their faces, creating a landscape of shadows and highlights. The fabric is a wonder, each fold and wrinkle telling a story of use and care. The artist has printed a high contrast between light and dark, really digging in to find the beauty in black and white. This photograph makes me think of the work of Roy DeCarava, another photographer who understood the power of black and white to convey deep emotion. Just like painting, photography, especially black and white photography, allows us to find ambiguity, joy, and multiple meanings in something which could otherwise be straightforward.