Gezicht op de stoomboot Ville de Gand nabij Msuata 1896

Curator: So, we have here an albumen print from 1896, titled "View of the Steamboat Ville de Gand near Msuata" by Franz Thonner. It is such an unusual object to encounter! Editor: Indeed. It's a photograph in an album format, showing what looks like a steamship on a riverbank. It has an almost dreamlike quality, with its soft focus and the distant, indistinct figures. How would you interpret it? Curator: I find myself thinking about the labor involved. Consider the albumen print process itself: egg whites painstakingly coated, exposed, and developed. It's an incredibly time-consuming and delicate process. This wasn't mass-produced; each print was a handcrafted object, think of this labor, probably unacknowledged at the time! And beyond the photographic production, consider what's *depicted*: the steamboat, a technology that relied on exploited labor and natural resources in its manufacture and operation, likely facilitating the extraction of resources and the imposition of colonial power. What does that tell you? Editor: It emphasizes the human cost of technological advancement and colonial expansion during that era. What about the setting, that riverbank? Curator: Exactly! Think about the extraction of albumen in Europe to supply a photographer in the Congo – all this highlights the interconnectedness of these disparate locations and economies, brought together by colonial desires and the materiality of this image. Editor: This really helps shift my perspective on it. It's not just a landscape photo; it’s about materials and their connection to labor. Curator: Precisely. Now, we can reflect upon our own complicity, through consumption, in maintaining similar systems today. Editor: It's eye-opening to see the artistry of photography tied to resource extraction and social impact. I’m very grateful. Curator: As am I. A reminder that all art, however beautiful, is entangled with material conditions.