Een binnenpoort in een pura tussen Badung en Toba 1900 - 1915

This photograph captures a gateway in Bali, snapped by Johanna Hermina Marmelstein, a Dutch artist born in the late 19th century. Marmelstein's gaze offers a glimpse into a cultural exchange, a moment framed by the visual language of colonialism. The photograph shows a woman, likely Balinese, standing beside a pura, a Balinese temple, which is a deeply spiritual place. What does it mean for Marmelstein, a woman from the Netherlands, to turn her lens towards this scene? How does her perspective shape our understanding of Balinese culture and identity during this time? It invites us to consider how photography can both reveal and obscure, connect and distance, as it captures moments across cultural divides.