2011

Loss?

Back in the ‘30’s, old black and white photographs portraying the happy side of a couple’s life, would show the wife sitting on a chair and the husband standing by her side, his hand resting protectively on the chair or on his wife’s shoulder. In some cases, the couple would be placed the other way around.In this case the husband is gone. Death’s black space holds his mementos, the hat and gloves, while in the white space of life, the wife hovering like a ghost, is mourning his loss.

Still, why would she wear a low-cut dress on such a sad occasion, and why would she hold a red tulip together with a black one? Who is the photographer and why can’t he be seen? In the wife’s mind, is the passing of the husband merely a loss?

Could it also possibly be the beginning of a new relationship, a new life?