Kloof van de Ajer Poetirivier bij Paja Kombo op Sumatra c. 1914 - 1917

Editor: So, here we have "Kloof van de Ajer Poetirivier bij Paja Kombo op Sumatra," which roughly translates to "Gorge of the Ajer Poetiriver near Paja Kombo on Sumatra," a gelatin-silver print taken by Christiaan Benjamin Nieuwenhuis sometime between 1914 and 1917. It feels like a scene from a forgotten world, almost otherworldly in its sepia tones. What jumps out at you when you look at it? Curator: You know, that "forgotten world" feeling resonates deeply. It's as if time itself has taken on a yellowish hue. The road cuts through the landscape, yet the scene whispers of timelessness, almost daring the modern world to intrude. Notice how the light plays tricks, both obscuring and revealing details in equal measure, creating an emotional tension that hums just beneath the surface. Do you sense a bit of that conflict too? Editor: Definitely! The light makes everything seem both immediate and distant. It is like peering into history. But why frame something so... ordinary? I mean, it’s just a road, right? Curator: Ah, but isn’t that the beauty of it? Nieuwenhuis transforms the mundane into the marvelous, that ordinariness becomes almost dreamlike. He captures not just a place but a feeling, an atmosphere. It's not simply documenting a road, but inviting us to wander, to get a sense of that place, even imagine sounds and smells that might inhabit that moment. Do you almost smell that humidity clinging to the vegetation? That's artistry, making a photo feel so immediate. Editor: Absolutely. Now that you mention it, I can almost feel the humidity. I guess seeing a gelatin-silver print brings a certain mood too, and helps make the scene a lot more powerful. Thank you so much for this. Curator: My pleasure. It's artworks like this that remind us of the magic hidden in plain sight, in the everyday passages that make up a life lived somewhere between Sumatra and our own imaginations. It is an invitation for wandering souls.