Stapels tabak in de fermenteerschuur in Tandjong Bringin, Sumatra c. 1890 - 1900

Curator: This photograph, taken around 1890 to 1900, presents 'Stacks of Tobacco in the Fermentation Shed in Tandjong Bringin, Sumatra' by Heinrich Ernst & Co. What strikes you initially? Editor: A stark stillness. An eerie sense of order... yet almost suffocating, all those massive, dark stacks filling the space. It feels more like a somber, sacred space than a warehouse. Curator: It's interesting you pick up on that, because even as a documentary image, it speaks to a grand narrative about colonial economics. Consider Sumatra, a place of intense labor and resource extraction at the turn of the century. Editor: Exactly! These stacks aren’t just dried leaves, they represent labor exploitation, stolen land, and the complex tapestry of unequal trade. You know, this seemingly objective landscape reeks of human stories and forgotten injustices. Curator: The use of gelatin-silver print here is rather revealing. The tonal range, from bright highlights in the exposed beams of the roof to the dark shadows pooled around the stacks, adds a drama. The Orientalist style definitely romanticizes what must have been grueling work. Editor: The "romance" of orientalism always veils very particular realities: in this instance, Dutch colonial practices in the East Indies, and how such visual documents served to legitimize and normalize it. I can't help but see the photo as an ideological tool, not merely a recording. Curator: It's powerful how photography, a medium often seen as neutral, can be so loaded with historical context. To really view it, we need to sniff out all its cultural biases! Editor: Absolutely! The scent of tobacco here carries a far less sweet aftertaste when we account for everything this photograph represents: capitalism and colonial violence disguised as progress. Curator: I'll never see a simple photograph of tobacco in quite the same way now! Editor: Nor I. Seeing art through different lenses definitely expands our understanding of our past.