Rubberbomen op Kanopan Oeloe, 1931 1931

This photograph, Rubberbomen op Kanopan Oeloe, was taken in 1931 by an anonymous artist; it's a black and white image of what looks like a rubber plantation, maybe in Indonesia. I like to think about what the artist was thinking when they made it. The choice of black and white gives it a timeless, somber quality, which resonates with the subject matter. A landscape which has been radically altered to harvest raw materials... There's a geometric arrangement in the layout of the trees and bushes. It’s very intentional! I start to think about the wider context, what was going on socially and economically at the time? When I look at this image, I see the visual language connecting different eras and histories. It reminds me of artists like Bernd and Hilla Becher, who photographed industrial structures. Or even earlier photographers documenting colonial projects. Artists are always in conversation, aren't they? It's an ongoing exchange of ideas.