Afdeling Sociale Statistieken en Administratie van het Centraal Kantoor voor de Statistiek te Batavia Possibly 1935

Curator: Here we have a photograph titled "Afdeling Sociale Statistieken en Administratie van het Centraal Kantoor voor de Statistiek te Batavia," likely taken around 1935 by an anonymous photographer. Editor: It’s immediately striking, isn't it? All these faces in monochrome, the building asserting authority behind them, and the light is fascinating— almost documentary, but the carefully arranged grouping hints at something more deliberate. Curator: The figures and their placement do carry a specific meaning. The photograph documents the division of social statistics and administration of the Central Bureau of Statistics in Batavia, modern day Jakarta. We can discern a carefully arranged hierarchy, a subtle symbolic depiction of the colonial administration in action. Editor: Exactly! The uniformity in their dress codes contrasts with those batik cloths towards the left, but the dominance of Western attire signals assimilation and the exertion of control and power. It makes me think about what wasn’t recorded: who took the image and their labor behind this documentation of the statistical body? Curator: That's where it becomes truly interesting. Group portraits like this often served a dual purpose—to commemorate, but also to subtly reinforce power structures, even when unintentionally. The building behind them reinforces notions of progress. Editor: And I notice the framing as well: is this an image from a photograph album? How the materials of this book act as its support structure is meaningful, in light of what’s been photographed. Curator: That’s an important distinction. Consider the implications of seeing it displayed like this, separated from its album. I sense a deeper history. The arrangement of bodies carries with it certain undertones of Dutch Golden Age group portraiture while imbuing this picture with orientalist sentiment, with a visual appeal to colonial enterprise and expansion. Editor: Fascinating how an image documenting something as seemingly neutral as a statistics office reveals layers of social complexity regarding material labor and colonial structures. I notice the uneven ground—were those stones or pavers imported, as a signifier of colonial achievement? Curator: The photograph as artifact brings a sharp focus to issues beyond its superficial subject, revealing social and ideological concerns, a colonial machine at work and captured through the simple click of a button. Editor: Ultimately, this photographic object acts as an excellent entry point for exploring how statistics, power and representation can be captured in the same instant, both limiting and enabling us to truly comprehend the subjects.