Manirung Range, Dunkar c. 1880s

Editor: Here we have Francis Frith's photograph "Manirung Range, Dunkar." It's a landscape, but the buildings in the foreground feel so integrated with the mountains; it's almost hard to distinguish them. What do you see in this image? Curator: Frith’s photograph, taken in a colonial context, presents a romantic, almost picturesque view of the Himalayas. How does the framing, with the village nestled below the imposing mountains, shape our understanding of the region and its people? Editor: I see what you mean. It's beautiful, but also maybe a little… reductive? The people are just part of the landscape. Curator: Exactly. This highlights the politics of imagery, particularly in how Western photographers captured and presented non-Western cultures. It invites us to question the power dynamics at play. Editor: I hadn’t thought about it that way. Curator: Considering the socio-political forces behind the image gives us a new perspective. Editor: Definitely. Thanks for that insight!