De kamer voor kleinere operaties in de polikliniek van het Hospitaal Batak Instituut te Kaban Djahe 1928

This photograph, taken on February 9th, 1928 by the Hospitaal Batak Instituut, captures a room for minor surgeries. Imagine the photographer setting up their camera, carefully composing the shot to capture the stark functionality of the space. I'm thinking about the light in this image; how it bounces off the surfaces, creating a play of shadows and highlights. The eye is drawn to the surgical table, front and center, where countless procedures would have been carried out. And then, the cabinets – I see them as guardians of the tools and supplies needed to keep the place of healing operational. I think of the staff, maybe feeling a mix of exhaustion and satisfaction after a long day. This image feels like a dialogue with documentary photography and early modernist interest in functional architecture. It invites us to contemplate the many meanings that can be found within something as straightforward as a photograph.