Gezicht op veld met grazende schapen nabij Noupoort, Zuid-Afrika 1900

This stereoscopic image of sheep grazing near Noupoort, South Africa, likely dates to around 1900. The photographic process itself deserves consideration: to make this image, a photographer would have used a specialized camera with two lenses, mimicking human vision to create a three-dimensional effect when viewed through a stereoscope. The albumen print, a process involving coating paper with egg white to create a smooth surface for the silver-based photographic emulsion, would render the landscape in warm, sepia tones, emphasizing the vastness of the South African veldt. The image would have been mass-produced, reflecting the burgeoning global trade in visual media. The photograph romanticizes the colonial landscape while obscuring the labor and exploitation inherent in this pastoral scene. The value of the image lies not only in its depiction, but also in its status as a crafted object – produced through chemical processes, and circulated as a commodity. This challenges the fine art/craft binary and invites us to consider the social and economic forces at play in its making.