Werknemers in het centrifugehuis van suikerfabriek Ngandjoek op Java c. 1925 - 1930

This photograph by Isken captures workers in the centrifuge room of the Ngandjoek sugar factory in Java. The image presents a dense landscape of machinery, pipes, and human figures. The centrifuges themselves, repetitive in their arrangement, evoke images of spinning wheels, a motif deeply rooted in cultural symbolism. The act of spinning is associated with the Fates, ancient goddesses who spun the thread of life, determining human destiny. In a seemingly unrelated context, consider the "Wheel of Fortune," a medieval concept illustrating life’s unpredictable turns. Here, we see how the mechanical repetitions of industrial labor unconsciously echo the cyclical nature of life, fortune, and fate. This industrial space, thus, becomes a symbolic arena where human effort is intertwined with the relentless, cyclical processes that have occupied our collective consciousness for millennia. The visual rhythm of the machinery and the workers’ motions create a powerful, albeit unsettling, harmony. This is not merely an image of a factory; it’s a tableau of humanity’s ongoing negotiation with time, fate, and the ceaseless turning of the wheel.