Surinamerivier 1925 - 1935

These two photographs of the Surinamerivier were probably taken with a portable camera, the kind that allowed people to document their travels and experiences. I wonder, what was it like to be there, on the banks of that rushing river? The water looks so forceful, like a liquid landscape constantly reshaping itself. And then there’s that hazy light, casting everything in shades of grey. I wonder what the photographer was thinking as they framed these shots. Were they struck by the river's power, or were they focused on capturing the lushness of the surrounding jungle? What does it mean to try and capture a place like this, to flatten it into a rectangle? The camera always has its own agenda, changing things as much as recording them. It’s like the way we remember things - never quite as they were, always shifting and reforming with time. Like a river, I suppose.