Leprozenkolonie Danaradja: gebouwen 1922

This photographic collage by an anonymous maker shows the buildings of the Danaradja leper colony. Though undated, its visual codes place it squarely in a history of colonial exploitation. The image's meaning emerges through its historical associations. It was likely made in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. Colonial powers often isolated people with leprosy, reflecting both medical ignorance and social control. These institutions were built on existing power structures that time and again further marginalized those deemed “other”. What can art tell us about this past? Photography, as an emerging medium, was often used to document and categorize people and places within the colonial project. A critical approach to this image helps us see how the representation of the buildings could inadvertently reinforce power dynamics. As historians, we turn to archives, medical records, and postcolonial studies to understand the full implications of places like Danaradja, where health and social control intersected. The image, therefore, becomes a point of departure for grappling with the legacies of colonialism and the social institutions it produced.