Portret van een onbekende jonge vrouw met tamboerijn 1863 - 1889

Curator: Before us we have "Portret van een onbekende jonge vrouw met tamboerijn," a photographic portrait created sometime between 1863 and 1889 by Famin et Cie. Editor: The sepia tones give it a certain antiquity, but there's a real tactile quality, especially in the young woman's lace dress. It makes me wonder about the material itself. Curator: Exactly! We need to consider the means of its production. The carte de visite was a common form of photography during this period, cheap to produce. And consider how these images then circulated, commodifying representations of "the Other." Editor: I agree. This is so interesting when we view this photograph within a discussion about colonialism. It is difficult to remove such pieces from that very loaded historical and political framework. Looking at this piece this way adds a layer of understanding about the relationship between gender, race, and power in the context of colonialism. Curator: Precisely! The tamborine, the headdress...they play into a certain European fantasy, don't they? Consider the sitter’s identity. The orientalist aesthetic flattens lived experiences, often exploiting non-European subjects for the Western gaze. Editor: There is the interplay between labor, art, and material processes and it can be very helpful when discussing Orientalism through lens-based art forms, like photography. How can we decolonize photographic practices and allow greater understanding between our world today and those initial photographic interactions? Curator: Those tensions are so important for us to continue engaging with, to re-evaluate how such imagery was, and continues to be, received. Editor: Indeed. Considering its role in objectifying women reminds me how important it is to critically analyze such images. Thank you for those additional comments.