Portretten 1943 - 1945

These are the images 'Portretten' by Flex Foto and they were made at an unknown date using photography. Isn’t it funny how these photographs are trying to hold onto something, some fleeting moment? I can just imagine Flex Foto, whoever they were, carefully composing each shot, trying to freeze time. You can see it particularly in the portraits from '43 and '44, where each person gazes confidently out, holding the viewer in their place. You can see the passage of time between these portraits. And then there’s the group shot, all those ladies at the beach in Bilthoven '44. I wonder what they were all thinking? Were they even aware this image would last so long? They probably thought these photographs were just for personal use! Then there’s the last image, the woman on the porch, standing so self-consciously there. We can see the passage of time, the personal and the historical all layered into the work like this, with each element, whether intentional or accidental, becoming a mark of its own.