Basreliëf in de muur aan de zuidzijde van de Borobudur Possibly 1873 - 1879

Editor: Here we have a photograph by Isidore Kinsbergen, possibly from the 1870s, showing a bas-relief on the south side of Borobudur. The photo's grainy, almost ghostly, but you can make out complex figural narratives carved into the stone. What historical context can you provide about these reliefs and Kinsbergen’s documentation of them? Curator: Kinsbergen's work is incredibly valuable precisely because of that 'ghostly' quality you noticed. These photos were taken during a time of intense colonial interest in Southeast Asia. What Kinsbergen documented was not just art, but power dynamics, knowledge production, and cultural translation. These reliefs visually narrate Buddhist teachings. We must ask whose interpretations were prioritized then, and how we can ensure a diversity of voices and decolonized perspectives when we analyze them now? Who has historically had access to interpreting these images? Editor: That makes me think about who was *meant* to ‘read’ these narratives initially – how accessible would they have been? Curator: Exactly! Consider the labor involved in carving them. How might the individual stories they portray support or subvert existing power structures? Perhaps it reflects both. Looking at the detail, it’s key to remember this wasn't made in a vacuum. Editor: I hadn't thought about it that way - focusing on power structures as well as just the stories depicted. Thanks for opening my eyes! Curator: Absolutely. It’s a reminder to always critically examine whose stories are told, whose are omitted, and why, both in the original creation and in how we study the image now.