Meisje met een draagjuk bij de Gevangenpoort te Woudrichem c. 1900 - 1910

This photograph by G. Hidderley captures a street scene in Woudrichem, with a girl carrying a yoke as its focal point. The yoke, a symbol of labor and sustenance, carries echoes from ancient agrarian societies where it represented the burdens and cyclical nature of life. In antiquity, we see similar tools depicted in Egyptian tomb paintings and Roman agricultural scenes. Over time, the yoke became less prevalent in daily life but persisted in symbolic form, often associated with ideas of servitude or communal duty. Think of religious iconography, where the yoke might appear to symbolize the willing acceptance of divine law or the collective burden of humanity. Here, in Hidderley's photograph, the girl and the yoke resonate with themes of rural life, and collective memory. This piece highlights the enduring human connection to labor, and cyclical patterns of life, a potent force engaging viewers on a deep, subconscious level.