Verjaardag H.M. Koningin Juliana op 30 April 1949 Possibly 1949

This page from an album was compiled in 1949 by sergeant-majoor Theunissen, documenting Queen Juliana's birthday celebrations on April 30th. The photographs, likely gelatin silver prints, depict festive activities. But these are not the celebrations in the Netherlands. The album page speaks to a complex history of Dutch colonialism. Consider the materiality of photography itself. It's a chemical process, industrial in scale by this time, used to document and disseminate images far and wide. In this case, it’s used to portray a constructed image of harmony in a colonial context. Theunissen’s arrangement is also telling. The photos are carefully adhered to the page, captioned and presented as a coherent narrative. The album becomes a crafted object, a testament to the selective framing of history. Ultimately, the album reminds us that even seemingly straightforward snapshots are carefully constructed artifacts, laden with social and political meaning.