Mensen op een stijger 1889

Paul Güssfeldt created this photograph titled 'Mensen op een stijger', or 'People on a jetty', using an unknown process. Güssfeldt, a 19th-century explorer and mountaineer, presents us here with a seemingly straightforward scene, yet it subtly reflects the era's broader socio-economic dynamics. As people stroll along the jetty, we might consider how this space, though seemingly public, would have been navigated differently based on gender and class. The presence of ships in the harbor alludes to trade and exploration, ventures that were often fraught with colonial implications and shaped by male dominance. Here, the photograph becomes a poignant reminder of the complex ways in which identity, power, and mobility intersect within a seemingly simple landscape. It asks us to reflect on who has the privilege to move freely and whose stories remain untold.