The waiting room 

Curator: This intriguing photograph is titled "The Waiting Room" by Nieves Mingueza. Editor: Immediately, there's a sense of motion and unease. Two pairs of legs, walking side-by-side, yet strangely disembodied beneath what seems to be an unnaturally black horizontal band. It makes me think of transition and the space between states. Curator: Interesting. What strikes me is the almost staged, theatrical quality within a very straightforward photographic style. This approach removes figures of power within celebratory portraiture, but in contrast leaves traces of an old society or ritualistic gathering. Editor: The thick black band at the figures shoulders, mimicking trees or shadow, it creates this heavy emotional and psychological sense of weight. Perhaps waiting for resolution or decision, a liminal state rendered in very stark, contrasting blacks and whites? The feet are clearly stepping into some other space, suggesting forward movement, not staying. Curator: I’m very fascinated by the symbolic function of group photographs. If these photographs have power it’s often located not just with in a single individual. Perhaps a shift away from portraits and towards a sort of democratic sensibility and visibility as a means to promote new ways of thinking about collectivity. Editor: Yes. Even their attire and position evoke memories— perhaps not wedding attire necessarily, more formal but still a specific social script. And what the figures carry symbolically is the ability to reflect social change, particularly since it reflects a traditional union now shown in motion and transit. Curator: A compelling idea—it offers a narrative of progress, rather than the historical symbolism associated with the couple portrait in its typical historical setting, suggesting movement beyond societal conventions, Editor: Indeed, the symbolism is strong. There’s anticipation but something darker here as well. Even in the photograph's age, one can’t tell the subjects identities or history. They symbolize the loss of personal history to public, societal history Curator: Ultimately, “The Waiting Room”, and Nieves Mingueza's approach offers us insight into changing ways of viewing traditional portraiture itself and challenges associated memories of weddings and partnership. Editor: Right. Nieves work creates lasting emotional resonance, exploring universal questions that make it such a psychologically rich experience for contemporary audiences.