Sloot met huizen te Zaandam 1890 - 1910

This photograph, ‘Sloot met huizen te Zaandam’, was taken by Simon Bakker Jz., sometime between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Bakker’s choice of photography, and the way he captures the landscape of Zaandam, speaks volumes about the changing world. Photography itself was a relatively new technology at the time, a product of industrial advances that democratized image-making. In this landscape, we see the evidence of labor, and the marks of those who have been cutting and assembling wood, and navigating the waterways. This landscape is shaped by the hands of many. The photograph itself becomes a document of a specific time and place, capturing the nuances of daily life and labor that might otherwise go unnoticed. It reminds us that even in the most seemingly straightforward images, materials and modes of production carry significant cultural weight. It challenges our notions about what constitutes art, and whose stories are told within its frame.