Man bij een waterwerk met sifon bij suikerfabriek Ngandjoek op Java c. 1925 - 1930

This photograph shows a man standing near a water siphon at the Ngandjoek sugar factory in Java. Though we don’t know when Isken made this image, it speaks volumes about the period of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia. The image creates meaning through its stark depiction of land use. Sugar plantations were a key component of Dutch economic exploitation of Java. We see a landscape completely transformed for industrial agriculture; even the water is channeled through a concrete structure to serve the sugar factory’s needs. In this context, the lone figure of a man seems almost dwarfed by the scale of colonial enterprise. Historians of colonialism rely on sources like company records, government documents, and personal accounts to understand the economic systems and social relations of sugar production in Java. It's through such research that we can reveal the social and institutional contexts that shape even a seemingly simple photograph like this one.