Pad en spoor langs suikerriet c. 1900s - 1910s

This photograph, titled 'Pad en spoor langs suikerriet' which translates to 'Path and track along sugarcane', captures a scene of rural labor, most likely created during the Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia. The anonymous photographer used a process that was still relatively new: chemical photography. The level of detail and composition draws our attention to the iron tracks running into the distance, and the sugarcane fields flanking it. Look closer: you will notice a solitary figure resting to the right, perhaps a field worker taking a break. Here, the materials and processes aren't just about the photograph itself. The very subject matter, with its railway tracks and agricultural landscape, speaks volumes about the transformation of the Indonesian landscape to serve the demands of global capitalism through sugar production. The image prompts us to consider the backbreaking labor involved in cultivating sugarcane, and how industrial infrastructure intersects with local ecosystems and economies. This photograph is more than just an image; it's a document of a world remade by labor and power.