Kollongdagbouw Koollaag A2 bij Tunnel 12 1921 - 1922

This photograph, titled 'Kollongdagbouw Koollaag A2 bij Tunnel 12' depicts an open-pit coal mine. It confronts us with a scene ripe with visual symbols of labor and extraction. Consider the image of the mine itself, it is a wound in the earth. This evokes ancient myths of the underworld, a place of hidden treasures and perilous journeys. We find this motif echoed in countless stories, from the Greek myth of Hades to Dante's Inferno, where the descent into the earth mirrors a descent into the depths of the human psyche. The laborers here, small figures dwarfed by the scale of the mine, echo the figures in ancient depictions of toil, such as Egyptian tomb paintings showing slaves building pyramids. Their repetitive movements, like the relentless turning of a wheel, speak to the endless cycle of human effort and the burden of existence. The mine reminds us of the cyclical nature of human ambition and its consequences. The image leaves a lingering sense of unease, a subconscious recognition of the price of progress and the potential for self-destruction inherent in our relentless pursuit of resources.