Tabaksveld op het Bindjey Estate van de Deli-Batavia Maatschappij op Sumatra (80 dagen na aanplant) c. 1900 - 1920

This photograph, "Tabaksveld op het Bindjey Estate van de Deli-Batavia Maatschappij op Sumatra (80 dagen na aanplant)," was taken anonymously. The greyscale tones feel raw, the product of a time when photography was about capturing a record, a slice of life, more than anything else. Look at the way the light catches on the tobacco leaves, dense and overflowing, creating a maze for the eye. There's a tangible sense of place, the air thick with humidity, you can almost smell the earth. Then there are the figures, neatly placed within the frame, perhaps they were proud, maybe indifferent. It makes you wonder about all the unseen labor behind the picture and what it means to see and be seen. Like a Hopper painting, or even the stark portraits of August Sander, it evokes a specific moment in time, while also leaving room for countless questions and stories.