Portret van Maja-Roekama 1883 - 1884

This is a photographic portrait of Maja-Roekama, made by Friedrich Carel Hisgen. The making of photographs like this one relied on chemical processes and industrial production. The materials of photography – glass plates, light-sensitive emulsions, and printing paper – were all products of factories, connecting artistic practice to wider networks of labor and consumption. The photographer's work was to use these materials to capture a likeness, in this case of a person from Suriname. The resulting images could be reproduced and circulated widely, contributing to social documentation. The very act of photography, however, must be understood in its historical context of power dynamics. The representation of Maja-Roekama, as a Surinamese individual, through the lens of a European photographer raises questions about the politics of representation and the gaze. Consider how the material processes of photography intersect with issues of colonialism, identity, and the recording of diverse cultures.