Een gedekte tafel in de tropen met daaraan Europese mensen gekleed in het wit. c. 1910

This photograph, by Frits Freerks Fontein, shows a table laid in the tropics with European people dressed in white. The sepia tone of the albumen print process gives the scene a sense of nostalgia, but it also speaks to a particular history. The photograph, as a medium, was from its beginning tied to industry, colonialism, and the growth of global trade networks. Here, we see a group of Europeans at leisure, in a setting that is made possible by these very structures. Notice the crisp white clothing, suggesting access to abundant cleaning and new cloth. Even the table setting itself indicates wealth. Fontein made many photographs of Indonesia, where he lived and worked, a country then under Dutch colonial rule. These kinds of images, like so many other artifacts, make us aware of how materials and modes of production are embedded within broader power dynamics. They invite us to consider the labor, and politics, behind the scenes.