Leerlingen van Schule Schloss Salem in het scheikundelokaal c. 1929

This silver gelatin print shows students of Schule Schloss Salem in the chemistry room, its origins a mystery. I wonder who took this shot, and why? The sepia tones give it a slightly alien, surreal quality, like we are looking at a lost world or a dream. The figures are frozen in a moment of intense concentration, their faces serious and focused. I imagine what it must have been like to be a student in that room, surrounded by glass bottles and bubbling liquids, the air thick with the smell of chemicals. It feels like the start of a whole new way of thinking, a scientific revolution! The act of recording this scene feels like part of the same impulse, trying to pin down and fix a new way of seeing. I respond to artworks in metaphorical, emotional, and creative ways, I hope you do too.