Gamelan poserend op een landweg before 1894

Editor: Here we have Ernest Romand’s photograph, “Gamelan poserend op een landweg”, which translates to "Gamelan posing on a country road", taken before 1894. It’s quite striking seeing the photograph presented as a page within a book. How might we read this image, knowing its material context? Curator: Well, let’s consider this image as a printed object first. Look at the grain of the photograph, likely a result of the printing process available at the time. The contrast, the limitations in capturing details - they all point to a specific moment in the technological history of image production. This photograph wasn’t just about capturing a Gamelan ensemble; it was about showcasing the capabilities of photographic reproduction and its accessibility in printed form, reaching a broader audience. Editor: That’s interesting. So, the very act of photographing and printing the Gamelan transforms it into something else? A commodity, perhaps? Curator: Precisely! It’s easy to romanticize such images, but let's not forget the exploitative context of colonialism. The materials - the paper, the photographic chemicals, the printing press - all represent resources extracted from somewhere, processed through someone's labor, and distributed to others. Who benefitted from its circulation and who was exploited in the process? It shifts the focus away from the romanticism of "Orientalism" toward the material realities of its creation. Editor: So by understanding the means of production, we’re forced to reconsider the cultural narrative embedded in the photograph? Curator: Exactly. Instead of merely admiring an "exotic" scene, we’re prompted to examine the systems of power that enabled its creation and dissemination. How do the very materials of the image shape and distort the Gamelan’s story? Editor: That gives me a lot to think about. It makes me want to consider every step from raw material to final print. Curator: Indeed. Shifting our attention to the material helps unearth forgotten labour and hidden meanings.