Frontgebouwen van de Technische School te Bandoeng 1933

This sepia toned photograph captures the Frontgebouwen van de Technische School te Bandoeng. I’m thinking about the photographer, working in Bandoeng. What were they looking for, what were they hoping to capture? There's a stillness, and a sense of something being documented very plainly. It’s a seemingly straightforward shot, but look at the way the light falls across the scene, the way the texture of the brickwork has been captured, the way the sun reflects on the tiled roof. Photography is all about light, and they were using this to create something quite special here. I wonder if the photographer saw themself as part of a wider conversation. Perhaps they were influenced by their contemporaries, but ultimately, like any artist, they were making their own mark. I think of the way artists inspire one another across time, building on what came before, always pushing the boundaries of expression.