Twee personen staand voor de woning van 'C. Kroese' van onderneming Toentoengan van de Deli Maatschappij op Sumatra c. 1900 - 1920

This photograph, by an unknown photographer, captures two people standing outside the home of C. Kroese, part of the Toentoengan enterprise of the Deli Company in Sumatra. The tones, ranging from a silvery light to a deep black, give a sense of depth. It's less about freezing a moment and more like the feeling of time passing, like a memory. Look at the texture of the roof tiles, repeated but imperfect, each one a slightly different shade. The way they recede into the distance reminds me that everything is made of smaller parts, and the whole is a kind of illusion. This extends to the way the figures are placed in front of the building. They are posed, but almost fading, and that contrast really says something about permanence. This reminds me a little of some of Gerhard Richter's photo paintings, where the original image is obscured through the process of painting. Like that work, this image isn't about what it depicts, but about how we see, and how we remember.