Groepsportret van onbekende vrouwen voor een gebouw before 1897

Christiaan Johan Neeb captured this photograph of an unknown group of women in an unknown location. The black and white image depicts the women standing in front of a woven structure, presumably a building under construction, as is suggested by the inscription on the bottom right corner. As with much photography from this era, there is an immediate sense of the colonial gaze. Neeb, a Dutch photographer, was part of a larger historical context of colonial expansion. The women are likely of Indonesian descent; perhaps they are local workers, or residents? What power dynamics are at play in this image, what unspoken agreements were made in front of the camera? Without further information, the photograph serves as a reminder of the many unnamed and unacknowledged individuals whose lives were impacted by colonial practices. It's a poignant reflection on identity, representation, and the complex layers of history embedded in a single image.