Parade te Batavia. Afgenomen door Lt. Gouv. Gen. v. Mook 1946 - 1948

This is a photograph of a parade in Batavia, taken by Sergeant Major Theunissen. Look at the way the ranks of soldiers line up, so neat and ordered. It makes you think about the sheer effort of trying to capture such a scene. I think about the artist, and the physical act of making an image like this. It’s a world of grey tones, and muted light. But the eye is drawn to the individuals that make up the group. It makes you wonder what they were feeling, standing in formation like that, and what it meant to be an individual within that scene. Photography, like painting, offers us a way of seeing, thinking, and experiencing the world. And whether you're wielding a camera or a brush, you’re constantly engaging in an ongoing conversation of ideas across time. It is amazing how one creative act can trigger another, and I feel inspired by Sergeant Major Theunissen's dedication.