Ruiterspel met grote bal, Medan Sumatra c. 1900 - 1905

This photograph of a game of horseback ball, was taken in Medan Sumatra, by Heinrich Ernst & Co. The muted tones and subtle contrasts here feel like memory itself. The way the riders are arranged, almost a frieze against the backdrop of palm trees, has a timeless quality that’s really appealing. It’s like the photographer captured not just a moment, but a whole era, the colonial era, maybe. I like how the surface of the print is almost like a soft veil. The details aren’t super sharp, which makes the scene feel more dreamlike. There's something about the vastness of the field, and the smallness of the figures, that emphasizes the staged nature of the scene. What is that giant ball? I see a tension between the formal composition and the everyday activity it depicts. It reminds me a little of Edwardian photography, but with a distinctly colonial twist. It’s a quiet image, and invites reflection on what it means to observe a culture from the outside.