Hal met verdampingsinstallatie van suikerfabriek Ngandjoek op Java c. 1925 - 1930

This photogravure by Isken pictures a sugar factory on Java, along with an evaporation installation. Can you imagine the artist in an airplane, or some kind of early drone, figuring out how to capture this industrial site from above? I'm wondering what it was like for Isken to work with such a complex composition. An aerial view is naturally abstracting, but it still requires an artist to find a balance between the intricate details of the site and the sweeping perspective of the landscape. There's something deeply satisfying in how Isken captured both the industrial and rural. It's not unlike painting itself: building up layers, adding and subtracting details, and all the while searching for that elusive balance that brings the whole thing to life. Think of Bernd and Hilla Becher, only with the lived experience of being in Java, and a desire to present the industrial sublime. Artists engage in a constant exchange of ideas, and in their own way, push the boundaries of what art can be.