Pagina 138 van fotoboek van de Algemeene Vereeniging van Rubberplanters ter Oostkust van Sumatra (A.V.R.O.S.) c. 1924 - 1925

This photograph by J.W. Meyster comes from a photo album of the General Association of Rubber Planters on the East Coast of Sumatra. These images aren’t just pretty landscapes; they tell a larger story about Dutch colonialism and its impact on Indonesia. This seemingly serene image of rubber and coffee plants masks the exploitation of land and labor that fueled the Dutch economy. Sumatra’s plantations were built on the backs of Indonesian workers, who were often forced into labor, and subjected to harsh conditions. Consider how the photograph frames the landscape in an orderly fashion, which mirrors the colonial project itself - an attempt to control and exploit both the land and its people. What does it mean to aestheticize this brutal history? Does it make us complicit? These photographs function as propaganda, designed to promote the success and benevolence of Dutch enterprise. But when we look closer, we can see the human cost of this colonial venture.