Landbouwers bij een artesische put in Bandung. 1900 - 1935

This image, Landbouwers bij een artesische put in Bandung, was made by Neville Keasberry. I think about the act of observation and documentation that photography entails, particularly in a time when the medium was not as readily accessible. I wonder what it might have been like for Keasberry to set up his equipment in Bandung, Java, and what he was thinking as he composed this stereoscopic image of farmers at an artesian well. Photography is a way of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world, but in the 19th century, it also involved laborious effort and technical expertise. Keasberry and the farmers he photographed were all participating in the construction of a modernising and globalising world. We all participate in a conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity.