Untitled 1987 - 1988

Editor: This is Rosalind Solomon’s "Untitled" photograph from between 1987 and 1988. The black and white shot has this strange tension to it, all the sterile equipment and the dentist’s intense gaze… I find it unsettling. What do you make of it? Curator: Unsettling is perfect! For me, it’s about mortality, isn't it? We entrust these…strangers… with something so intimately linked to health, beauty, even our very smiles. And Rosalind zeroes in on that vulnerability. The black and white adds to that feeling, don’t you think? Almost like an old film still, a recovered memory. It makes you wonder what he is about to do next. The staging too – the light, the gleaming, somewhat menacing tools... is this portraiture or a glimpse behind the curtain? Editor: I never thought of the "behind the curtain" angle. It’s true, we rarely consider the dentist’s perspective. Do you think there's a link to the AIDS crisis? These years were heavy with anxieties around medical procedures and disease. Curator: Absolutely, there's that layer. The mask he wears, while standard, gains new resonance in that context, suggesting both protection and, perhaps, even fear. Photography captures fleeting moments but the best portraits can be read again and again because it captures timeless stories about its subjects and ourselves. Rosalind’s art goes straight to the place we avoid looking! Editor: It makes you wonder, who is really being examined here? Curator: Precisely! And isn’t it wonderful when a piece makes you ask that?