Pagina 73 van fotoboek van de Algemeene Vereeniging van Rubberplanters ter Oostkust van Sumatra (A.V.R.O.S.) c. 1924 - 1925

This gelatin silver print showing the interior of a Sumatran rubber plantation was created by J.W. Meyster sometime in the early 20th century. The cool thing about photography is that it flattens everything, giving the world a kind of evenness. The artist, Meyster, probably thought he was just recording an image of some kind of industrial plant, but somehow the black and white tones here and the almost surrealist composition of the train wagons above these giant vats, turns it into something else. I can imagine Meyster thinking about all the different viewpoints and what to leave in and out of the image. It's like he's trying to show us everything at once, the whole process of making rubber, but through the lens, it becomes something more abstract, less clear. Photography like painting is all about capturing a feeling or a mood. It's like Meyster is saying, "Here it is, this is how it works," but also hinting at something deeper, something about labor, industry, and maybe even the beauty in it all.