Kalkoven en werknemers van suikerfabriek Boedoeran in Sidoarjo op Java c. 1925 - 1930

This photograph of a sugar factory in Sidoarjo, Java, was taken by Isken. It's a fascinating glimpse into a world and a way of life that feels both distant and present. Isken's photo is so descriptive in the way it captures the immense structure and scale of the factory. The tones are soft, as if time has mellowed the image, creating a sepia-toned memory. It's not just about the building, but the life that buzzes around it, the workers who give it scale and purpose. I'm drawn to the man standing at the top of the tower; he seems like a small part of a big machine. The sepia tones remind me of early photography and the way it could be used to romanticize progress while still capturing a sense of human labor. It speaks to the conversations artists are always having: how do we depict industry, labor, and the changing world around us? This photograph reminds me of the work of Bernd and Hilla Becher, who also documented industrial structures with such care and precision, reminding us that art is always in dialogue, each piece building upon and responding to what came before.