Gezicht op de grote Sasbahu Tempel c. 1900

Editor: Here we have a photograph from around 1900 by K.H. Mawal, titled "Gezicht op de grote Sasbahu Tempel," showing the exterior of a temple. It feels quite monumental and still somehow gives a sense of ruin. What strikes you when you look at this photograph? Curator: The overwhelming sense is the labor involved. Look at the sheer scale of the stone work. The cutting, the transportation, the placement... this wasn’t simply designed, but constructed through immense coordinated human effort. Where did the materials come from? Who were the people doing this work, and what were their lives like? Editor: So, less about the spiritual significance and more about the physical making? Curator: Exactly. Temples, like cathedrals, are often seen as solely religious. But their existence is intrinsically linked to the socioeconomic structure that allowed for their creation. The materiality screams power, not just faith. This wasn't divinely dropped from the sky; it was quarried and shaped. Editor: That makes me think about how the photo itself functions as a sort of material record of that labor. It documents that effort and that socioeconomic power. Curator: Precisely! Consider the context of the photo being taken. It was a time of exploration and documentation, and in this picture you don't just see the building, but also a European desire to record and consume "exotic" artifacts. The photograph itself becomes part of a colonial transaction of cultural representation and consumption. Editor: So, it shifts the way I understand its meaning quite a bit, seeing it less as a relic from the past, and more as an active record of labor and cultural exchange in a particular historical context. Curator: And the ongoing negotiation between faith, power, and the materiality of creation. This photograph shows that tension beautifully.