Kriegsjahr 1940 1940 - 1948

This is a page from an anonymous photo album, made during the war year of 1940, which freezes moments in time. The photographs, like memories, are set against a dark, textured background, making them seem both intimate and distant. The surface is key here. It's almost like looking through a window, or maybe a keyhole, at these glimpses of life during wartime. The contrast between the grainy photos and the smooth backdrop creates a tension, a sense of something hidden beneath the surface. Take the top left image: a few soldiers at a table. The light catches the white tablecloth, a stark contrast to their uniforms, highlighting a moment of mundane normalcy amidst the chaos. The album's design reminds me a little of Gerhard Richter's "Atlas," where he compiles photographs. The album format itself invites us to reflect on the process of documentation and the stories we tell ourselves through images. In the end, art is just a way of having a conversation, across time, about what it means to be human.