Tabaksveld op het Bindjey Estate van de Deli-Batavia Maatschappij op Sumatra (80 dagen na aanplant) c. 1900 - 1920

This photo, taken on the Deli-Batavia Maatschappij estate in Sumatra, shows a tobacco field 80 days after planting. I find myself immediately drawn into the anonymous photographer’s experience, trying to imagine what it must have been like to stand in that very spot. I can almost feel the sun beating down, and smell the earthy aroma of the tobacco leaves. I wonder, what was the photographer thinking about? The composition is fascinating, the way the field stretches out into the distance, blurring the lines between foreground and background, almost like an abstract painting. The photo has a certain tactile quality, like you could reach out and touch the leaves. In a way, this photograph reminds me that all art is a conversation across time. Each artist builds upon the work of those who came before, and hopefully inspires those who will come after. There’s always ambiguity, but with that comes so much possibility.