['Port Elizabeth-Main Street', 'Worcester-Market square, town hall and English Church'] before 1880

Curator: So, we have here a gelatin silver print from before 1880, featuring two cityscapes by Sam Alexander: "Port Elizabeth-Main Street" and "Worcester-Market Square, Town Hall and English Church." The piece offers a dual glimpse into South African urban life during that period. Editor: My first thought is… wow, they look so incredibly still. It's like stepping back into a world where time moved at a different pace, where a town held its breath for the camera. Does that make any sense? There is something dreamlike. Curator: Absolutely. The stillness reflects both the long exposure times of early photography, but also the specific context of colonialism and the construction of urban space. Think about who is visible in these spaces, and who is notably absent. Whose story is being visually prioritized here? The buildings, imposing and very present! And the streets. Editor: Yes, absolutely, I hear you. It also makes me think about light—how crucial light was to early photographic practice. It has also become something crucial about "enlightenment"—that it happened on very very racialized context. These kinds of street photography open a door into a deeper, shared understanding about that context, how deeply light-oriented philosophy might affect a social understanding for back then. Curator: Indeed. The use of the gelatin silver print enhances clarity, making these streets palpable yet slightly ethereal, amplifying both their colonial architectural detail but its sense of otherworldliness. Consider the impact this imagery might have had then—how it would be disseminated or not—to a society being so visibly constructed on segregation and privilege. Editor: Thinking about all of that is truly sobering. Stillness, beauty, power, segregation... it all swirls together. This isn’t just a cityscape; it's a loaded silence, right? Curator: Precisely. Editor: Looking at this really opens up new conversations in my head about what this image contains about colonialism, so yes! it was worth reflecting upon together. Thank you for these insights.