Zeilschepen op een kanaal 1885

Editor: This is “Zeilschepen op een kanaal,” or “Sailing Ships on a Canal,” a gelatin silver print from 1885 by C. and G. Zangaki, here at the Rijksmuseum. There’s something almost dreamlike about this photograph. How would you interpret this work? Curator: This image, on the surface, presents a tranquil scene, but I think it demands we look closer at the canal itself as a site of immense colonial ambition. The Suez Canal, which I suspect this depicts, dramatically shortened the route to Asia. What sociopolitical dynamics do you think that accelerated access facilitated? Editor: I guess easier access would mean accelerated resource extraction and heightened power imbalances, right? This photograph becomes more than just sailboats all of a sudden. It embodies complex histories of power and trade, filtered through the lens—literally—of Western perspectives on the East. Curator: Precisely. These photographs, sold as souvenirs, were actively shaping a particular view of the region for Western audiences, normalizing a certain colonial gaze. The Zangaki brothers were Greek photographers working in Egypt; how do you think their own ethnic position might affect their perspective versus, say, a British photographer in the same era? Editor: That's interesting. Perhaps as Greek photographers, they had a different relationship to the imperial powers and the local Egyptian population, one that complicates a simple colonizer/colonized binary. The orientalist tag feels too simple. Curator: Absolutely, understanding the nuances of their position can open up new layers of interpretation. Seeing this image through an intersectional lens reveals power dynamics and complexities that a purely aesthetic appreciation might miss. Editor: It reframes how I look at even seemingly straightforward landscapes; I’ll keep thinking about the photographer’s position. Thanks! Curator: And I hope it highlights how vital those untold and marginalized voices are!