Vrouw aan een heupweefgetouw 1860 - 1880

Curator: Looking at this image, the first thing I notice is the concentrated gaze. It seems to hold the entire composition. Editor: Exactly! That gaze connects us directly to her labor, her skill, doesn't it? And it's a labor presented plainly, realistically, if somewhat formally, which is appropriate because what we’re observing is “Vrouw aan een heupweefgetouw,” taken sometime between 1860 and 1880, part of the Rijksmuseum's collection. The photographers were Woodbury & Page. Curator: Woodbury & Page were key in documenting Southeast Asian life for a Western audience. There's a distinct ethnographic quality here. Editor: Mmh, I imagine the Western viewers marveling at the exotic practice of hip-loom weaving! The woven texture coming to life in front of their eyes. There is also something inherently beautiful about how basic this kind of weaving looks! Curator: There is indeed the exotic aspect to this piece; one wonders how it might've shaped perceptions of labor and craft within a colonial context at the time. Were viewers meant to appreciate the craftsmanship or other the woman, her "primitive" ways, and place her in their biased hierarchy? Editor: True, a photograph from that era has built-in filters applied. Regardless of their aim, Woodbury & Page's perspective is from the outside looking in. I'd give anything to time-travel back to this moment, to stand on that patch of grass just beside the woman’s loom, to study what’s in progress and understand her expression from the other side. Curator: Absolutely. Looking at the photograph now, with our awareness of the medium's history, prompts important questions about representation and cultural exchange, what was shared, what was lost. Editor: It does, and now that I ponder the weave's quality it evokes my mother's handicrafts that were made by weaving small strings into each other like this woman does; how awesome that now I can reminisce and associate the memories together! I would argue this picture brings memories closer rather than distancing a viewer from an experience of unfamiliar cultures! Curator: It seems what began as an inquiry has become more complex, and nuanced. Editor: And far more emotionally resonant than either of us expected, I'll bet!