Twee mannen met monoculair op het strand van Banda Besar 1875 - 1890

This photograph, titled 'Two men with a monocle on the beach of Banda Besar' was created by C. Dietrich. The image’s material qualities immediately speak to the colonial context of its making. Photography, with its chemical processes and mechanical exactitude, was itself a technology of empire. The production of images like this involved a whole system: from the mining of silver for the photographic plates, to the labor of those who mixed and applied the chemicals, to the distribution networks that carried the finished product back to Europe. The composition of the photograph is also telling. It is carefully staged: two European men are positioned in the foreground, seemingly in contemplation. The people and landscape of Banda Besar are presented as an exotic backdrop. We might consider this image as itself a kind of raw material, mined from the landscape and repurposed for European consumption. Ultimately, this photograph reminds us that all images, no matter how seemingly objective, are the products of specific historical and social forces. It challenges us to consider the labor, politics, and consumption tied to the colonial era.