Pagina 131 van fotoboek van de Algemeene Vereeniging van Rubberplanters ter Oostkust van Sumatra (A.V.R.O.S.) c. 1924 - 1925

Editor: This is a gelatin-silver print from a photo book by J.W. Meyster, dating back to around 1924-1925. It’s titled "Page 131 from a photo book of the Algemeene Vereeniging van Rubberplanters ter Oostkust van Sumatra (A.V.R.O.S.)". I see rows and rows of plants, agave, I think, in a field. It makes me wonder about labor, how everything was organised... What do you make of this piece? Curator: The image presents rows of agave co-planted with Calopogonium. What immediately grabs my attention is the material reality represented here: the intense industrial cultivation that restructures the very land. This image is a document of material transformation. The photographic print itself, a product of chemical processes and industrial labor, further embeds the photograph within systems of production. Editor: So, you’re seeing it as more than just a landscape photograph, then? It's like evidence of industry and work? Curator: Precisely. Consider the Algemeene Vereeniging van Rubberplanters; a trade association invested in rubber cultivation. This photograph visualizes their operations, capturing not romantic ideals but the tangible means through which commodities were produced in colonial Sumatra. Do you see the rows? That organization hints at exploited labour, land management... Editor: That makes sense. It reframes the image in my mind. I wasn't considering the economic context. Curator: Exactly! And think of photography, itself: A technology employed to visualize, control, and document this entire colonial endeavor. A material record. Editor: I now better grasp how the subject, its documentation, and even its exhibition here at the Rijksmuseum, are all linked by materials and the process to commodity and labor. It gives me a lot to think about in my future research! Curator: It offers us an alternative perspective on our consumption practices too. Hopefully, this shifts your viewpoint in interesting ways.