Prostituees achter een hekwerk in Yoshiwara, Tokyo, Japan before 1903

Editor: This is "Prostituees achter een hekwerk in Yoshiwara, Tokyo, Japan," taken before 1903 by Kusakabe Kimbei. It's an albumen print showing women behind a gate. The bars give me an unsettling feeling. What can you tell me about this photograph? Curator: Let's focus on the materials themselves, shall we? Albumen prints became popular because they offered a relatively cheap way to produce sharp photographic prints. Think about what albumen is: egg white. What does it mean to fix an image of these women, presented for consumption, using a material derived from a source also consumed? It reflects how these women were commodified. Editor: That's an interesting angle! I hadn't thought about the material itself adding to the meaning. Curator: Consider the labour, too. These prints were often hand-coloured, involving multiple layers of labour and skill. This highlights a complex system of production and consumption related to both photography and the sex trade. How does the act of staging and photographing these women influence your interpretation of their agency? Editor: It makes me think about who had the power in that situation, and how the photographer was framing them for a Western audience, I guess? Were these photos mass-produced for sale? Curator: Precisely. They became a collectible, fueling Orientalist fantasies and solidifying exploitative systems. Focusing on these material and economic aspects allows us to see past the surface and consider the deeply embedded social and political forces at play. What is your feeling now? Editor: I see the photograph more as a document of complex economic and social forces rather than just a historical portrait. It definitely gives me a lot to consider. Curator: Exactly. The materiality points us towards larger systems of power and consumption.