Exterieur van fermenteerschuren van de Deli Maatschappij te Pandjang Djati op Sumatra c. 1900 - 1920

This small black and white photograph captures the exterior of fermentation barns of the Deli Company in Pandjang Djati on Sumatra. You know, looking at this, I’m thinking about the anonymous person who made this image. I imagine the photographer wanted to capture the scene just so, making a record of the barns but also the trees, land, and sky. The photographer held their breath for a split second, trying to capture everything just right. It must have been so different then, so much slower, each photo captured with such care. It reminds me how artists are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. Making something, anything, is an act of embodied expression embracing ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations and meaning over fixed or definitive readings.