Britse soldaten marcheren naar Kroonstad, Zuid-Afrika 1900

Editor: Here we have a gelatin silver print from 1900 entitled "Britse soldaten marcheren naar Kroonstad, Zuid-Afrika" or "British Soldiers Marching to Kroonstad, South Africa." It appears to be a photograph of a very long line of soldiers standing in the middle of a dry, barren landscape. There's an imposing, almost unsettling stillness to this image, as though the soldiers have been frozen in time. What catches your eye when you look at this? Curator: It’s the sheer number, isn't it? This relentless repetition of form – the endless line of soldiers – speaks volumes about the nature of conflict itself, particularly during the Boer War. I’m struck by how the light flattens the image, creating this feeling of a staged scene, and yet... it's real. There they are. A moment caught. Do you feel like that contrast of real and staged impacts you as well? Editor: Absolutely! Knowing this was captured in 1900 adds another layer, almost a feeling of a performative, mediated reality. These men were being presented to the world, a visual representation of power. Curator: Yes, but a power bought with individual sacrifice, perhaps? Look closely at their faces. Do you see much... optimism? Are these conquering heroes, or men weighed down by duty, by heat, by circumstance? That ambivalence... that's what sings to me. Editor: I see that now. I hadn't considered the individual within the group. Thanks, that really opens it up for me. Curator: And for me as well! That push-pull is precisely why these seemingly straightforward historical photographs resonate even now. They become metaphors for the stories we tell ourselves, don't you think?