Werknemers in het riethuis van suikerfabriek Boedoeran in Sidoarjo op Java c. 1925 - 1930

This photograph by Isken shows workers in the sugar factory Boedoeran in Sidoarjo on Java. It’s all about the process, isn’t it? The way the light falls, the composition, the workers uniforms: it’s all so carefully orchestrated. Look at the texture of the cane stalks, bundled and piled up, waiting to be processed. You can almost feel the rough edges, the weight of the bundles. The monochromatic palette gives it a kind of timeless quality, like a memory fading into sepia tones. The cane stalks fill the frame like an abstract expressionist painting. Each mark is a piece of information, a clue to understanding the process. It makes me think of other artists who documented labour and industry, like the Bechers, or even Bernd and Hilla, who also had that obsessive, almost clinical approach to their work. But what sets this image apart is the human element, the sense of energy and activity, the feeling of being in the midst of the process.