Rubberbomen en voertuigen van Leidong West en machinekamer van de Deli Batavia Rubber Mij., 1933-1935 1933 - 1935

This is a page from a photo album, made between 1933 and 1935, and it's anonymous. It's got that snapshot feel, that urge to capture and pin down a moment, but without the self-consciousness of high art. I love how the images are arranged, almost like a storyboard, each offering a different angle on the rubber plantation. The stark contrast of the black and white, the texture of the paper, it all speaks to a different era, a different way of seeing. Look at the image of the machinery, the way the light catches the metal, it's so matter-of-fact, yet there's a strange beauty in its industrial quality. It reminds me a little of Bernd and Hilla Becher's photographs of industrial structures. But, here, there’s no pretense, just an honest attempt to document the world as it is. To me, it's a reminder that art isn't just about intention, but about how we find meaning in the everyday, the accidental, the overlooked.