Koeltrog 1920 - 1922

Curator: Let's talk about this gelatin-silver print called "Koeltrog" created sometime between 1920 and 1922, and it is now in the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It's massive! My first thought is that this… tank, I guess? looks like something Jules Verne would've dreamed up. A touch of steampunk well before its time! There's something imposing, but also curiously fragile about it sitting there on that rail carriage. Curator: It's intriguing, isn't it? The photograph was taken during the colonial period in what was then the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. “Zending Braat Soerabaia,” printed on the side indicates that it probably had a specific role related to shipping and potentially industrial use around the city of Surabaya. Editor: Surabaya... the "City of Heroes!" Which immediately adds another layer to its almost-mythical quality. Knowing that adds weight, and makes you wonder about the workers and colonial hands whose lives were woven with this contraption. Makes you want to run your hand along it, or at least wish you could. Curator: Precisely! The text itself highlights a critical point, a mission associated with the Braat company. Photography, in such contexts, served not just to document but to project industrial progress and colonial power. Editor: It also leaves me wondering about its scale and the kind of person who worked around it. The industrial nature contrasts sharply with its transportation. Almost like something captured mid-journey. Curator: Indeed. The anonymous authorship encourages us to look beyond individual artistic expression. Consider instead how this image operated within the Dutch colonial system. Editor: Anonymous adds to that almost surreal distance to me; we focus more on its impact now. Knowing its location contextualizes everything. It transforms this scene from a simple industrial document into a more multifaceted portrait of progress, power, and possibly exploitation. Curator: Exactly, seeing “Koeltrog” reveals aspects of a society managing new technologies and global politics. The photo acts as an access point for the Dutch presence during this period. Editor: I'm really drawn to its presence as a ghost that sparks questions. I will hold it in my memory for a while, letting its subtle message continue to linger.