Huis van de resident. Soerabaya 1880 - 1888

This photograph, "Huis van de resident. Soerabaya", was taken by Herman Salzwedel. It depicts the home of a colonial official somewhere in Indonesia. It’s easy to overlook photography as a “material,” but in fact, the processes involved – the making of the emulsion, the developing of the print – were complex and highly skilled. Consider how the tonal range here conveys a sense of place. This wasn't just a captured image, but a carefully constructed record of power. The very act of photography was a form of extraction. The photographer visited a place, took something away – an image – and then circulated it. The photograph becomes a commodity, a token of colonial control. So, next time you look at a photograph, think about what went into making it. Think about the labor, the technology, and the social context that shaped its creation, and you might begin to see it in a new light.