Gezicht op een markthal in aanbouw in Durban 1901

Curator: What a fascinating slice of history! We're looking at a gelatin-silver print by Underwood & Underwood, titled "Gezicht op een markthal in aanbouw in Durban," or "View of a Market Hall under Construction in Durban" created around 1901. Editor: My first impression is the sheer scale of activity captured in this moment. The market hall, shrouded in scaffolding, looms large, while the foreground buzzes with horse-drawn carts and figures. It's a picture of industry and growth. Curator: Exactly. This photograph provides a window into Durban during a period of rapid development. The building represents the optimism and expansion of the city as a major port. Think about what the market itself symbolizes – a convergence point for different cultures and economic activities. Editor: And the scaffolding itself speaks volumes. It is almost an image of an unfinished promise. This skeleton implies transition but the architectural elements such as the twin cupolas, already have connotations of colonial solidity. Curator: Those twin cupolas are interesting, aren’t they? They give a sense of civic aspiration, a deliberate echo of European architectural styles to project permanence and… perhaps dominance. The image might serve as visual rhetoric. The market under construction as a promise to a certain segment of the population. Editor: Perhaps there's even a tension there, between the imposed structure and the inherent energy of the marketplace. Look at the blur of the people and carts. All those circular pathways of potential exchanges of produce, labor, gossip, or revolution. Curator: And note that there's so much activity surrounding the hall *before* its completion, showing how integral marketplaces are for societal life. Editor: Agreed. In this way it acts as an iconographical blueprint, overlaying commerce upon native and colonial exchange. Curator: This photograph invites us to consider Durban's evolution as a hub in South Africa’s complex colonial landscape, and the social structures inherent to any construction of “place”. Editor: Precisely. A market hall is never *just* a market hall; it's a vessel of values, traditions and a vision of the future imposed over whatever came before. Curator: Seeing all this growth also encourages us to critically examine the perspectives and impacts behind it. Editor: Definitely something to reflect on after looking at such a multi-layered image!