Untitled (young woman seated with arm around standing little girl) c. 1940

This untitled photograph by Paul Gittings presents a seated woman and a standing girl in a study of light and form. Its cracked surface adds a layer of complexity, like a semiotic web, to the image. Gittings uses a monochrome palette to emphasize the contrast between light and shadow, accentuating the textures of the subjects' clothing and hair. The composition, seemingly casual, balances the figures within the frame, drawing the viewer’s eye across the plane. The cracks serve as disruptive lines that challenge the photograph's representational stability, introducing an element of chance. In this context, the cracks destabilize the conventional reading of portraiture, disrupting fixed meanings, and prompting us to consider the artwork's materiality as integral to its message. The surface imperfections mirror the imperfections of memory and representation itself. The cracks function as a visual metaphor for the fragility of time and the instability of images.