Gezicht op de Leeukop vanaf de Tafelberg in Kaapstad c. 1940 - 1960

This photograph, "Gezicht op de Leeukop vanaf de Tafelberg in Kaapstad," was created by Blackshaw, using gelatin silver print. The cool tones and detailed rendering in this work are very typical of this process. It involves a suspension of silver halide crystals in gelatin, coated onto a base material, which gives the image its distinctive appearance. The way light interacts with the silver particles is crucial to the photograph's luminosity, its silvery sheen. Photography democratized art by creating images more quickly than traditional art forms. In a colonial context such as South Africa, it allowed for widespread dissemination of imagery both celebrating and subtly reinforcing a racialized hierarchy. Moreover, the work’s aesthetic quality—its stark contrasts and sharp focus—is contingent on the industrial production of film and photographic paper. Thinking about the materials and making of this photograph helps us to understand its cultural significance, prompting us to think about how even an image of natural beauty is deeply embedded in complex social and economic systems.