Groepsportret van leraar en leerlingen van een Koranschool in Atjeh, Sumatra 1899

This photograph of a teacher and his students at a Koranic school in Atjeh, Sumatra, was taken by Christiaan Benjamin Nieuwenhuis. Photography, even when seemingly straightforward, is never a neutral process. Consider the materials involved: the chemical preparation of the photographic plate, the camera, the printing process. All these technologies had to be imported into Sumatra, reflecting a colonial imbalance of power. Look closely, and you’ll see that the photograph’s materiality influences its appearance, from the sepia tone to the soft focus. The very act of capturing this image involves specific techniques and tools, linking it to histories of creative practices and aesthetics, and to wider social issues of labor, politics, and consumption. How many photographs did Nieuwenhuis take that day, and what were they used for? Paying attention to materials, making, and context, challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and craft, encouraging us to think more critically about the full meaning of such images.