Gezicht op de haven van Suva vanaf een barrièrerif before 1899

Curator: Ah, this photograph gives us a peek into the past. What do you think? Editor: Dreamy, isn't it? A hazy, almost ethereal feel to the whole scene. Like a memory fading into the sea mist. Curator: Exactly. This albumen print, dating from before 1899, is entitled "Entrance to Suva Harbor through Barrier Reef," taken by Maximilian Agassiz. Notice how the material construction informs the feel? Albumen, from egg whites, binds the photographic chemicals. It’s a laborious process that speaks to a specific moment in photographic production. Editor: Absolutely. The tonality, almost sepia-like, it lends this tropical view a strangely melancholic air. A paradise touched by time. It feels removed somehow... like watching it through an old telescope. I like how the tangled trees contrast the ship masts. What about that stark division in composition though, almost as if the artist chose a line? Curator: I think you're sensing that deliberate framing, which was no small task using period photography and processes, to produce a specific effect of orientalism. We are seeing not only the harbour entrance but its depiction for a certain consuming public back home. Editor: I hadn’t considered the viewpoint implications of how photographic material relates to place... so as someone experiencing Fiji perhaps differently, that’s quite significant. But it is such a shame, isn't it? The beauty just leaks from the scene. Curator: It speaks volumes about the circulation of images and the labor invested in producing particular representations of the South Pacific for consumption elsewhere. Editor: That reframing makes a real difference, I must admit. Well, now, my wistful gaze turns a bit more…critical. I love when that happens! Curator: Agreed. By focusing on the labor and production of the piece we start to deconstruct the very ideas we carry of those exotic spaces in the artwork.