Waterlooplein met het Michielsmonument te Batavia (Jakarta), gezien vanuit de Willemslaan, met op de achtergrond het Paleis van Daendels, Nederlands-Indië c. 1895 - 1915

This photograph of Waterlooplein with the Michielsmonument in Jakarta, was made by Woodbury & Page. It's a way of seeing a place, yes, but it's also about a process, an interaction with light and chemicals, to fix an image. The sepia tones give it a kind of dreamlike quality, like you’re looking back in time. I’m drawn to the way the light falls across the open space in the foreground. There's this tension between the solid, imposing monument in the center, and the hazy, almost dissolving quality of the background. The details in the building fade out. The photograph seems to be as much about what is there as it is about what is *not* there, what is left to the imagination. It reminds me a little of Atget’s photographs of Paris, where he documented a city in transition, capturing a sense of loss and nostalgia. Art is an ongoing conversation. There is never one right answer. The beauty of art lies in its ability to evoke different feelings and interpretations, leaving space for us to bring our own experiences and perspectives to the work.