Gezicht op de kleine koepel van de grote Moskee in Damascus (Syrie/Petite coupole de la Gde Mosquée (livre sacré) - Damas) 1872

Curator: This photograph, taken in 1872, captures a view of the small dome of the Great Mosque in Damascus. The Maison Bonfils produced this striking image. Editor: There's something haunting about this image. The light, the decaying architecture... it feels both sacred and melancholic. Like a memory fading. Curator: Indeed. Bonfils’ work often highlighted the architecture and cityscapes of the Middle East, catering to European tastes for orientalist imagery. It’s a study of architectural forms. Look at how the columns supporting the small dome mimic and echo the arched structure of the mosque itself. Consider the labour invested in the quarrying, transport, and careful construction evident in this photograph. Editor: But isn't there also a bit of theatre in it? A stage set of sorts. It looks so grand, so weathered... and yet, I feel a certain detachment. It is the gaze of someone not from there. I wonder about the people who moved through this space, unaware they were becoming artifacts. Curator: And the materiality! The salt prints produced in Bonfils' studio in Beirut show this incredible texture and tone. Each print would have been crafted meticulously, exposing and developing the image. Its mass appeal fueled colonial projects, offering glimpses of what was deemed exotic to potential travelers and investors. Editor: Yes! All these stories lie beneath its surface. The frame within a frame creates a kind of layered depth. It speaks about a longing to witness, or own the witness, from afar. It feels very…of its time, don't you think? What did Damascus feel for someone holding this camera and pointing it to the sky? Curator: Exactly. By dissecting its elements - light, composition, chemical processes, the business and consumption practices - we are looking not only into Damascus, but also into 19th-century dynamics of power. Editor: I leave here with the awareness of the complex gaze, a strange cocktail of reverence and detachment, the longing to experience the weight of ancient stones.