Tabaksveld in aanleg op tabaksplantage Bekalla van de Deli Maatschappij op Sumatra c. 1900 - 1920

This photograph shows a tobacco plantation on Sumatra and was made by an anonymous artist. Look at the way the land is cultivated into terraces, each one a deliberate mark, a careful incision into the landscape. It reminds me that artmaking, like farming, is a process of layering and building. The monochrome palette, the grainy texture of the print, the way the light catches the ridges of the terraces, it all speaks to the physicality of the medium. You can almost feel the earth under your fingernails, the sweat on your brow. Notice the sharp angles of the roofs of the buildings, juxtaposed against the soft curves of the hills. It is as if the artist is highlighting the tension between human intervention and the natural world. This piece reminds me a little of the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher, with their focus on industrial landscapes, but here, there is something more organic, more human. It's a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation, a layering of ideas across time.