Microscopische opname van schub van een tong, 25 keer vergroot 1887 - 1888

Curator: Looking at this gelatin silver print, I’m struck by how abstract it feels, almost like a celestial body against the darkness. Editor: And yet, this photograph by Marinus Pieter Filbri, dating from around 1887-1888, unveils the minute detail of something far less romantic: a microscopic view, magnified 25 times, of a scale from a tongue. Curator: A tongue! The realism of the medium is fascinating here; Filbri has given us a hyper-real view of a hidden aspect of a fish tongue. Thinking about power structures and societal expectations of consumption at that time—what’s hidden versus what’s visible—the tongue has a long association of deviancy or hidden discourse in social dynamics. Editor: The very act of photographing something invisible to the naked eye inherently alters our understanding and highlights the artist's institutional drive toward documenting an element, a body, in this particular scientific manner. The still-life aspect, focusing solely on this microscopic element, removes it from its contextual politics, but presents this as a public artefact for observation. Curator: It does prompt us to question those boundaries between science and art, especially when this form of presentation—a stark, close-up, isolated view—becomes prevalent in turn-of-the-century visual culture. Think about anxieties about industrial progress in those periods as well. To what extent is Filbri reflecting concerns of humans and machines' role in society and how technology is penetrating into the unseen worlds? Editor: These were early days for photomicrography, though, and placing the image in time is key. Filbri had likely encountered new possibilities offered by gelatin silver prints. Considering its position alongside the rise of science and technology in the public’s imagination makes this far more powerful than just an objective document. The technology itself made this possible, thus the print itself serves as a symbol and artifact of this scientific exploration, too. Curator: So, by examining its material context and theoretical resonance, we understand Filbri’s print both as a still-life study and, maybe, an understated visual protest. Editor: Yes, in essence it's about exploring the relationship of humans, our curiosity and the objects in this strange space between scientific process and how society and the media interpret progress.