Suikerdrooginstallatie Possibly 1932 - 1933

This photograph, simply titled "Suikerdrooginstallatie," or "Sugar Drying Installation," captures an anonymous industrial scene. It provides a glimpse into the machinery of sugar production. But what does it mean to look at this image? We see the bones of industry, and that industry hints at labor. That labor suggests people, and the sugar they made was both sustenance and a colonial commodity. As an anonymous work, we don't know who made this image, however the text "BRAAT. SOERABAIA" appears in the lower left corner of the photograph. Braat was the name of a metal construction company located in Soerabaia, now Surabaya, Indonesia. The lack of a named photographer asks us to consider the labor involved in capturing and producing this image. The photograph becomes a historical document, illustrating not only industrial processes but also the complex relationship between labor, colonialism, and the global economy. It invites us to reflect on the human stories behind the production of something as commonplace as sugar.