Europeanen gekleed in het wit ontspannen bij de buitentafel terwijl de Indonesische bediende het van een afstand gade slaat. c. 1910

Frits Freerks Fontein Fz. made this photograph of Europeans dressed in white relaxing at an outdoor table, while an Indonesian servant looks on from a distance. What strikes me is the sepia tone, which gives the photograph a dream-like quality, like something remembered, or misremembered. I imagine the photographer with his camera and tripod, carefully composing the scene. What was he thinking as he captured this moment? Was he aware of the power dynamics at play, the stark contrast between the colonizers in their pristine white clothing and the Indonesian servant observing them? I keep wondering about the light. How it falls across the scene, illuminating some figures while leaving others in shadow. It's like a painting in light. And it makes me reflect on how photography, like painting, can be a way of seeing and thinking about the world, a way of questioning and exploring the complexities of human experience. It’s a conversation between the artist, the subject, and the viewer, across time and space.