Weg door koffieaanplant te Bangoen-Poerba op Sumatra before 1898

Carl Kleingrothe created this photograph of a coffee plantation in Bangoen-Poerba, Sumatra, during the late 19th or early 20th century. The photographic process itself bears consideration. Light-sensitive emulsion on paper, precise timing, and the manipulation of chemical reactions are all required. The resulting image is cool and precise, a world away from the labor-intensive cultivation it represents. The road bisecting the neatly ordered rows of trees implies a colonial infrastructure built to extract resources. Each plant represents countless hours of labor: planting, tending, harvesting. The photograph aestheticizes this exploitative system, transforming toil into a seemingly picturesque landscape. Photographs like this were not simply neutral documents; they served as propaganda. By focusing on the visual appeal, the photographer obscures the harsh realities of colonial exploitation, inviting viewers to admire the scene without questioning the social and economic forces at play. So we might ask ourselves, how does our own consumption perpetuate such patterns today?