Portret van Aliha-Kama 1883 - 1884

Editor: So, this is Friedrich Carel Hisgen's "Portret van Aliha-Kama," made sometime between 1883 and 1884. It's an albumen print and it feels...intimate, almost confrontational, but in a quiet way. What do you see when you look at this portrait? Curator: Intimate is a great word for it. It’s not just a likeness, is it? It’s as though Hisgen felt something for Aliha-Kama, even as he sought to document her, almost like pinning down a butterfly with a camera. Notice the piercing gaze – it demands our attention, our respect, despite the setting and context, which let’s be honest, probably objectified her to some extent. Do you see how the light plays on her skin? Editor: Yes, it’s really soft, and it emphasizes the piercing she has below her lip. Was that a common practice? Curator: Indeed! Labrets, as they’re called, were and sometimes still are marks of identity, status, and beauty across numerous cultures, a bold statement literally embedded in the body. And photography at this time, well, it was being used as a tool for documentation but also… colonization. Portraits like this were meant to capture, classify, even control indigenous populations. Editor: It's unsettling to think of her portrait being used like that, stripped of her own narrative. It gives me a completely different perspective now. Curator: Exactly! Art rarely exists in a vacuum, does it? It's layered with intentions, interpretations, and its own complicated history. Maybe appreciating its beauty means wrestling with all of that too.