Recreatiehut van de arbeiders op plantage Accaribo te Suriname 1916 - 1930

This is an undated photograph of a recreation hut of workers on the Accaribo plantation in Suriname, taken by Theodoor Browers. It's monochrome, so we can't see the colours of the walls, roofs, or the earth. But imagine Browers setting up his camera, framing this composition of buildings and nature – a fascinating intersection. I wonder what it was like for Browers to take this photograph? Did he chat with the people in the buildings? What were the working conditions? What does it mean to photograph somewhere like this, to document it? The picture feels open, like there is a story about to happen, or already taking place that we will never know. Photography, like painting, can be such a charged act, full of history and the weight of representation. I think about the work of other photographers like Dawoud Bey or LaToya Ruby Frazier, and how Brouwers work fits into a history of artists representing the lives of others, inviting us to see and reflect on different ways of life.