Arbeiders op plantage Accaribo met Theodoor Brouwers terzijde 1913 - 1930

This small photograph, Arbeiders op plantage Accaribo met Theodoor Brouwers terzijde, meaning Workers on the Accaribo Plantation with Theodoor Brouwers aside, captures a scene, somewhere, sometime. The photographer wasn't named, so we can only imagine what it must have been like, lugging their camera equipment through the plantation. The photograph looks like it was exposed for a bit too long, and there is a strong contrast between light and dark. I wonder whether the photographer knew exactly how it would turn out. The figures are blurred, they become smudges in the landscape. The whole photograph reads as a sketch rather than a complete picture, a suggestion of the scene rather than a detailed depiction. I can imagine being out there on the plantation myself. Maybe this photographer had some influence on later artists, inspiring them through their own experiments. The photograph is an echo from the past. It embraces uncertainty, allowing for multiple readings.