Untitled (woman seated on sofa with two babies, girl standing to side) c. 1940

This small, undated photograph by Paul Gittings captures a domestic scene: a woman seated on a sofa with two babies and a young girl standing beside her. There’s something about the inversion of light in this image that’s so revealing, like a photographic negative turned inside out. I imagine Gittings in his darkroom, coaxing this image into being, the scent of chemicals hanging in the air. The woman’s face, though inverted, has a remarkable clarity, a quiet strength. I can almost feel the weight of the babies in her arms, the soft fabric of her dress. The little girl beside her has a watchful, curious gaze. It’s easy to romanticize the past, but photographs like this remind us of the everyday realities, the quiet moments of family life that are universal. Gittings invites us to reflect on the complexities of motherhood and the passage of time.