The Unasked Question

We spend our lives behind glass. We look out at the world, and the world looks back, but the barrier remains. It is a thin, transparent thing, yet it dictates everything. We learn to read the faces on the other side. We look for a sign, a flicker of recognition, a reason to believe that the distance between two people is not absolute. Sometimes, a face appears that does not ask for anything. It simply exists in the light, unburdened by the weight of the day or the history of the house it inhabits. It is a rare thing to see someone who has not yet learned to hide. We carry our masks like armor, forgetting that the most honest parts of us are the ones we show without thinking. What remains of us when the glass is finally broken?

Lothar Seifert has captured this moment in his work titled Boy from Nepal. The light finds him exactly where he is, waiting for nothing. Does his smile change the way you see the glass?