Theefabriek 1931 - 1937

This photograph, "Theefabriek," of a tea factory, authorship unknown, plunges us into a space where labor and industry intertwine. The grayscale palette lends a timeless quality. Looking closer, it feels as though the mechanical elements of the factory contrast with the workers in the foreground. The photograph is a record of a process, which makes me think about painting as a process. Each brushstroke builds on the last. The texture of the image is sharp, the details of machinery and clothing rendered with precision. I keep returning to the figure standing atop the machine – isolated, authoritative, and disconnected from the labor taking place below. Thinking about the interplay between humans and machines, I'm reminded of the industrial landscapes of the Bechers, and how they cataloged similar scenes with objectivity. Ultimately, this image leaves me with a sense of ambiguity, questioning the power dynamics at play and the human cost of production.