Calakmul 1999

Sally Mann made this photograph, Calakmul, using a large format camera. It’s like she was wrestling with light and mist, finding a way to see through it. There's this hazy veil over everything, softening the sharp edges of the ruins. It's not about perfect clarity; it's about feeling the weight of history, the ghostliness of time. Look how the light seems to bleed into the steps of the pyramid, making them almost disappear. That diffused light, it’s like memory itself – fragmented, elusive. It reminds me of Corot, that French painter who made landscapes that were all about mood, not so much about place. Both artists know how to let things fade, revealing more than perfect detail ever could. It is this soft focus which can allow the mind to wander and make connections. Art is always this conversation across time.