Theefabriek Kertamanah gebouwd door Machinefabriek Braat Soerabaia 1934 1934

Curator: This is a fascinating gelatin-silver print simply titled, "Theefabriek Kertamanah gebouwd door Machinefabriek Braat Soerabaia 1934." It was captured in 1934. Editor: Wow. Stark. The skeletal frame of a building against what looks like barren land. The black and white enhances the rawness of industrial development, almost post-apocalyptic, though, ironically, it represents progress. Curator: It's part of a larger collection here at the Rijksmuseum. And when you see it alongside the other images from the era, you get a sense of how photography was used both to document and celebrate industrial achievement. Editor: Absolutely. But there's also an unsettling colonial subtext, isn't there? This is Java, Indonesia, under Dutch rule. This factory isn’t just about building; it’s about power dynamics, resource extraction, and the imposition of a foreign system on a local landscape. It's about whose labor is being exploited, and for what. Curator: That's definitely part of the story. The composition, the sharp lines of the steel structure… there's a Constructivist vibe here, glorifying industry. But there’s also a quiet desolation to it that acknowledges, however unconsciously, the costs. I am attracted to how photography always exposes more than initially meets the eye. Editor: Constructionism meets colonialism... that has a nice ring to it! It makes me think about contemporary debates around green colonialism. We often focus on environmental impacts, but how do historical power structures continue to shape ecological destruction today? The relentless, and often callous, need for development remains to this day. Curator: Right. This image isn't just about a factory being built; it's a snapshot of an economic system being erected on ground already heavy with history and a whole different kind of tradition. Editor: Seeing how quickly the narrative shifts… a single photo holding so many stories… I love that it embodies the paradoxes inherent in progress, revealing so much more with a closer look. Curator: Exactly! And those shifting layers keep bringing us back for another look.