Mentawaier aan boord van een schip bij de Pagai-eilanden 1891 - 1912

This is a photograph, taken sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, by Christiaan Benjamin Nieuwenhuis. It shows a group of Mentawaier people on board a ship near the Pagai Islands. Imagine Nieuwenhuis, lugging his heavy equipment onto the ship, carefully arranging his subjects. I wonder what he was thinking, what he hoped to capture? Was he aware of the power dynamics at play in this encounter? The photograph is a document, of course, but it's also a construction, a performance. The Mentawaier people, their bodies adorned with traditional ornaments, are presented for the camera's gaze. The composition is formal, almost staged, yet there's a certain intimacy in the way the subjects interact with the lens. I see echoes of other artists here, the way they wrestled with representation and the politics of looking. It reminds me of my own work, how I try to navigate the complexities of perception and the slippery nature of truth. We are all in conversation, Nieuwenhuis, me, you, grappling with the act of seeing and being seen.