Acht en een halve maand oude baby Klaas Kleiterp in een kinderwagen in Batavia 1921

This photograph was captured by Klaas (I) Kleiterp, immortalizing his eight-and-a-half-month-old baby, Klaas Kleiterp, in a stroller in Batavia. Imagine Kleiterp senior, framing his tiny son in the confines of that dark buggy. The kid is beaming, one chubby arm raised in greeting – or maybe just flailing around like babies do! What a snapshot of a fleeting moment. I feel for Kleiterp, trying to freeze time, make a memory solid. It’s like wrestling with paint, trying to pin down something slippery and real. Here he has captured his baby's smile which is a universal language. Photography is an art of light and shadow, and here, the stark contrasts give it a timeless feel. It feels like a conversation across time, echoing through generations of artists trying to capture the messy, beautiful, and fleeting moments of life.