Gezicht vanaf de Brantasbrug op dorp en suikerfabriek Meritjan te Kediri op Java c. 1925 - 1930

This photograph, "Gezicht vanaf de Brantasbrug op dorp en suikerfabriek Meritjan te Kediri op Java," of a village and sugar factory in Kediri, Java, seen from the Brantas Bridge, uses a muted palette to capture a faraway scene. This approach makes you consider photography as a kind of process, one of distillation. Look at the water, and then the sky. How would you describe its texture? The surface is smooth, like glass. The colour is consistent, almost flat, but when you move to the far bank, it seems as though the colour shifts and changes. The smokestack is perhaps the tallest structure in the image, but its presence is minimized by the way it blends into the background. There’s something quiet, but very intentional, about the image, and that’s why it appeals to me. Artists like Vija Celmins come to mind, with their ability to flatten an image, giving it a sense of timelessness. Ultimately, art is an open conversation where interpretation is always up for grabs.