Vrouwen bezig met aanrijgen van tabaksbladeren in een droogschuur op Sumatra c. 1900 - 1915

This photograph, taken by Carl J. Kleingrothe, captures women stringing tobacco leaves in a drying barn in Sumatra. Imagine the rows of women, sunlight filtering through the slats, their hands moving with practiced rhythm. I wonder, what was Kleingrothe thinking as he composed this image? Was he drawn to the geometry of the barn, or the quiet dignity of the workers? I feel how this photo is layered with intention; it makes me reflect on how labor, gender, and place intersect. I think about the surface of this photographic print. The grayscale tones capture the textures of the leaves and the rough-hewn wood. The women’s postures, the way they lean into their work, reminds me of the physicality involved in my own creative process. I feel the connection between their labor and my own, as we both engage in acts of transformation.