Winkelstraat in Port Said, Egypte 1870 - 1910

Curator: I’m immediately struck by the hazy sepia tones of this photograph. There’s a quiet bustling feel; almost like I can hear the echoes of bartering and footsteps on the sun-baked earth. Editor: What a beautiful impression. This is an albumen print titled "Winkelstraat in Port Said, Egypte," placing us in a street scene in Port Said, Egypt, sometime between 1870 and 1910. The piece is attributed to C. & G. Zangaki and forms part of the Rijksmuseum collection. The “Orientalist” style cannot be ignored. How does this work fit within its genre, and what is the socio-political context surrounding its production? Curator: Absolutely. It feels almost...staged? As though it’s a meticulously constructed image rather than a pure slice of life. The placement of the figures, the cleanliness of the street despite its implied activity. Does this then portray some romanticized and unrealistic image of a foreign, colonized country? Editor: Precisely. We have to acknowledge the gaze through which it was captured. Photography from this era and region was often used to reinforce existing power dynamics, framing the East through a Western lens of exoticism. The depiction may then prioritize a narrative appealing to Western audiences, neglecting a true depiction. The Orientalist school presents issues of representation, the creation of the “Other,” and reinforces colonial structures. Curator: Thinking about this in relation to present-day mass tourism, it feels eerily similar. Are we as viewers also perpetuating this gaze simply by viewing? Are our experiences in these environments more "authentic," or only slightly modernized echoes? This city, caught between worlds, captured on paper and held to our lens forever... Editor: It's a vital question. This piece forces us to engage with that uncomfortable inheritance, and its place within museum culture compels it to be deconstructed so it can challenge.