Untitled (close up of woman smiling in hat, short curly hair) c. 1940

Paul Gittings created this untitled close-up image of a smiling woman with short, curly hair and a hat. The stark contrast between light and shadow dominates the composition, highlighting the woman's features. The inverse tonality creates an otherworldly atmosphere, challenging conventional notions of portraiture. This work pushes the boundaries of representation by subverting the expected relationship between light and form. The emphasis on tonal inversion invites a semiotic reading, where the familiar signifiers of portraiture, such as lighting and contrast, are destabilized. The structural play of light and dark prompts us to reconsider the very nature of visibility and the way images construct meaning. Ultimately, this image invites ongoing interpretation, pushing viewers to engage with the material and conceptual structures that shape our understanding of representation.