Een dam nabij Bandung 1900 - 1915

This photograph shows a dam near Bandung, taken by Johanna Hermina Marmelstein. Although undated, the image gives us a glimpse into the social and cultural landscape of the Dutch East Indies, likely in the first half of the 20th century. The dam itself speaks to the colonial engineering projects imposed on the Indonesian landscape. The figure of the woman standing at the lower edge of the image implies the perspective of the colonizer. The image presents a composed and controlled view of nature and local engineering. To understand this image more fully, one could delve into the archives of the Tropenmuseum, KITLV, or the Dutch National Archives. The photographer's personal history, along with records of Dutch engineering projects in the region, would provide deeper insights into the complex relationship between colonizer and colonized.