Ourebia ourebi (Oribi) Possibly 1777 - 1786

Editor: This is "Ourebia ourebi (Oribi)" a watercolor drawing, possibly from between 1777 and 1786, by Robert Jacob Gordon. I’m immediately drawn to the almost scientific precision in the rendering of the animals, but also how they are set in this very idyllic, almost staged landscape. How do you interpret the artist's choice of medium and composition? Curator: The medium itself speaks volumes. Watercolor, being relatively inexpensive and easily portable, aligns with the Dutch East India Company's (VOC) emphasis on resourcefulness and documentation. Gordon wasn't simply making art, he was producing visual data. The staged landscape reinforces this – it’s not a raw depiction of nature, but a constructed scene to display the "resource" for the patrons. Editor: So you're saying the artistry is secondary to the colonial project it served? That it was about efficient and reproducible knowledge? Curator: Precisely! Look at the way the animals are presented, almost as specimens. This is visual inventory, an aesthetic born from mercantile ambition. The choice of watercolor also facilitates easy reproduction and distribution, furthering the dissemination of colonial knowledge. Editor: I never considered how the physical properties of watercolor itself contributed to a colonial agenda. It shifts the perspective on this work so much! Curator: Indeed. Considering the materiality redirects the gaze from the animals themselves to the means by which they were rendered and ultimately, consumed as images for a European audience hungry for knowledge and power. It reveals art's often obscured relationship to material realities and social control. Editor: That definitely gives me a new way to understand landscape and natural history drawings from this era. Thanks!