Bureau en drukkerij van de Deli Courant te Medan 1890 - 1910

This photograph captures the offices and printing house of the Deli Courant in Medan, though its photographer remains anonymous. The image transports us to a time when Medan was a hub of colonial activity in the Dutch East Indies. The Deli Courant was a Dutch-language newspaper. It served the interests of the plantation owners and colonial administration. This photograph embodies power, the uneven distribution of resources, and the layered identities present in colonial Indonesia. The newspaper represents the voice of the colonizers. It is literally etched onto the architecture of the building itself. The anonymous photographer suggests the erasure of local perspectives, overshadowed by the dominant colonial narrative. What does it mean to witness a place and time through the lens of the colonizer? Consider the stories untold, the voices unheard, and the complex tapestry of human experience that lies beneath the surface of this seemingly straightforward image.