Portret van twee vrouwen in lichte jurken, zittend in een tuin 1900 - 1920

G. Hidderley made this photograph of two women in light dresses, sitting in a garden, though there isn’t a date for when it was made. I wonder about the act of capturing this scene. The way the figures are positioned, slightly stiffly, makes me think about the process involved: the staging, the waiting, the exposure. Did Hidderley want to capture a sense of friendship and intimacy? Or were they more interested in the formal aspects of the composition, the way the white dresses create shapes against the darker background? Looking at the soft greys, I can almost imagine being there on that day, breathing in the scent of the grass and the nearby foliage. Were they comfortable sitting there? Were they close friends or sisters? And did Hidderley know them well, or were they strangers? Like with painting, photography can be a kind of conversation, but also a way of reaching out, across time, to connect with others. It can be interesting to see photography in relation to the act of painting. Both forms can create such embodied expression and multiple interpretations.