Treinwagons bij de suikerfabriek van de suikeronderneming Nieuw Tersana, Cheribon, voormalig Nederlands-Indië c. 1890 - 1935

This is a photograph, presumably taken with a camera obscura, by Onnes Kurkdjian of train wagons at the Nieuw Tersana sugar factory. It is a black and white image, which means the greyscale and contrast become really important to understanding how the image works. The texture is amazing, the eye can see the billowing smoke from the factory, the rough foliage and even the reflection in the water. The workers on the train, and those dotted around the factory almost disappear into the landscape. I am really drawn to the detail in the train itself, with all its pipes, couplings and grilles, but the human presence is almost obscured. It's interesting to consider the legacy of someone like Kurkdjian, whose work feels connected to someone like Bernd and Hilla Becher and their photographic documentation of industrial structures. Ultimately, art is about an ongoing conversation.