Benares, the Burning Ghat 1865 - 1866

Curator: Samuel Bourne captured this albumen print, titled "Benares, the Burning Ghat." Look at the incredible detail, the architecture cascading towards the water. It’s a powerful visual document. Editor: Immediately I feel this palpable sense of time, like peering through a sepia-toned memory. So many souls gathering by the water, it’s both haunting and strangely serene. Curator: Bourne, active in India during the second half of the 19th century, utilized the collodion process, creating the image on a glass negative. Think of the logistics, the sheer labor involved! Editor: The light is so still here, the moment suspended. I wonder what stories the people in this photograph could tell us about their lives, their beliefs, standing at the edge of eternity. Curator: The image size is 23 by 29 centimeters. Its function as a commodity is undeniable; part of the burgeoning tourism industry aimed at the colonial gaze. Editor: Yes, you're right. Still, the visual impact is undeniable. It makes me feel smaller, more connected, strangely melancholic.