Gezicht op Karbouwengat op Sumatra c. 1900 - 1920

This photograph of Karbouwengat on Sumatra was taken by Christiaan Benjamin Nieuwenhuis sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. It’s a gelatin silver print – a relatively new technology at the time, allowing for sharper images and a wider range of tones than earlier photographic processes. Notice the way the light plays across the terraced fields and the steep cliffs. Photography like this involved a complex alchemy of chemistry, light, and skilled labor. The photographer had to be a technician, an artist, and something of an explorer, venturing into remote locations with bulky equipment. Consider the social context of this image. It’s not just a neutral record of a landscape. It is imbued with the history of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia, a visual artifact of a complex relationship, of power, trade, and cultural exchange. The making of photographs like this was tied to wider social issues of labor, politics, and consumption. Ultimately, this image reminds us that even the most seemingly straightforward depictions of the world are the result of deliberate choices, skilled labor, and complex historical forces.