Pagina 118 van fotoboek van de Algemeene Vereeniging van Rubberplanters ter Oostkust van Sumatra (A.V.R.O.S.) c. 1924 - 1925

This photograph is from a photo book of the Algemeene Vereeniging van Rubberplanters, taken by J.W. Meyster. I can imagine Meyster setting up his camera, carefully framing the machinery and that tiny human figure. What was it like to be in that factory? The textures of the metal, the vast space, and the person as part of this industrial landscape—I wonder if Meyster felt a sense of awe, or perhaps a melancholy about labor. The sepia tones give the image a distant, historical feel, but the composition is what really gets me. It's like a stage set, with the machinery as the main characters. The light creates a kind of rhythm, like the beat of the machines themselves, drawing us into the scene. You can feel the weight and scale of this operation. Painters are always looking at photos, right? This makes me think about Bernd and Hilla Becher documenting industrial structures, and how we all borrow from each other to find ways of seeing. Each image is like a conversation.