Jodenvervolging in Amsterdam 1943

This photo collage, ‘Jodenvervolging in Amsterdam’, is by an anonymous artist. I imagine them collecting photographs and snippets of text as a way of processing the unfathomable. Look at this collection of images, stuck to the dark paper. What was the artist thinking when they made it? Perhaps they were trying to bear witness, trying to grapple with something unbearable, knowing full well that no image can ever truly capture the horror. It's like the artist is asking, how can we make sense of this, how can we not look away? The grainy black and white photos create a feeling of distance. The lack of clarity leaves you feeling helpless, like the neighbors watching the horror unfold. I wonder if the artist felt as though they were piecing together a puzzle with missing pieces, each image and word a fragment of a larger, unspeakable truth. This is how artists work, sifting through the pieces, trying to make sense of it all, for themselves and for us.