Waterlooplein met het Michielsmonument te Batavia (Jakarta), gezien vanuit de Willemslaan, met op de achtergrond het Paleis van Daendels, Nederlands-Indië c. 1895 - 1915

This photograph shows Waterlooplein with the Michiels Monument in Batavia, now Jakarta, and was shot by Woodbury & Page. The black and white tones create a world of sepia, framing a space of grandeur. There's a real sense of distance, and light as you peer down what must have been a long road. It’s like looking into a memory. I imagine them in a dark room, carefully developing and printing this image. What were they thinking as the image slowly appeared in the developing tray? Were they thinking about empire, the exoticism of this faraway place, or the monument to Dutch power? It reminds me how all artists, whatever their medium, are in dialogue with the world around them. They take what they see, feel, and think, and they transform it into something new. And we, as viewers, bring our own experiences to the work, creating new meanings in turn.