Militairen van de Gordon Highlanders installeren zichzelf op een heuvel, Zuid-Afrika 1900

This stereograph shows soldiers of the Gordon Highlanders in South Africa; it was created by the firm of Underwood & Underwood, likely around 1900. The stereograph, a double photograph mounted on card stock, was a hugely popular medium at the turn of the century. Made with a special camera, it created a three-dimensional illusion when viewed through a special device. The images, though mass-produced, provided an immersive experience, a kind of proto-VR. The social context is impossible to ignore. The technology of photography here serves the ends of imperial expansion. The labor of these soldiers, and the skill of the photographers, are marshaled to create a kind of visual propaganda. The stereograph brought the realities of colonial life into homes around the world, shaping public perception of the British Empire. Looking closely at the photograph reminds us that even the most seemingly straightforward images are complex constructions, reflecting the social and economic forces of their time.