Herinneringsalbum voor F.J. Junius, vertrekkend resident van Lampong (Zuid-Sumatra) 1932 - 1933

This memory album for F.J. Junius, an outgoing resident of Lampong in South Sumatra, was made by an anonymous artist, and whoever it was, they were thinking about the long game. The album has a certain heft, a tactile quality inviting touch. The textured surface, meant to evoke crocodile skin, is compelling: are we meant to think about the exotic, the dangers that F.J. Junius has faced? Maybe. It’s dark, almost somber, yet there's a hint of brown, of earth, peeking through. It makes me wonder about what images, what memories, this album might hold. What stories does it tell of a life lived far from home? The cord is intriguing. It looks functional but also decorative, a kind of flourish. That slightly off-center placement gives the whole thing a casual feel, like the memories inside are precious but not too precious. It reminds me of the work of contemporary artists like Tomma Abts, who create abstract forms that seem familiar yet strange, inviting us to project our own meanings onto them. Ultimately, it is less about fixed meanings and more about the process of remembering, of piecing together fragments of a life.