Het post- en telegraafkantoor in Surabaya 1876 - 1884

This photograph shows the Post and Telegraph Office in Surabaya. It was made using a process that was still quite novel at the time. Think about the wet collodion process, requiring careful preparation of glass plates, sensitizing them with chemicals, exposing them in the camera while still wet, and then developing them immediately. This wasn't point and shoot. It required meticulous attention to detail. Consider the social context too. The image embodies the intersection of technology, colonialism, and labor. The building itself signifies modernity, communication, and control, imposed on the landscape by the Dutch colonial authorities. The photographer, Salzwedel, was most likely part of that system too. The image thus becomes more than a mere representation; it becomes an artifact deeply embedded in a network of power and exchange. This photograph asks us to consider the labor, the materials, and the broader social and political context in which it was produced, blurring the lines between art, craft, and historical document.