De Norvalspontbrug over de Oranjerivier, gezien vanaf de noordoever 1900

Curator: I'm drawn to the scale of this image right away. It feels expansive but muted, almost nostalgic. The sepia tones contribute to a sense of distance, both geographically and historically. What do you make of it at first glance? Editor: There’s a certain Victorian formality, isn’t there? It's "De Norvalspontbrug over de Oranjerivier, gezien vanaf de noordoever," or, more plainly, the Norvalspont Bridge over the Orange River, as seen from the northern bank, in 1900. Anonymous, a gelatin-silver print, firmly in the camp of landscape photography. Curator: That inherent realism paired with this washed-out quality feels poignant. Bridges in photographs often signify connections, but here I sense something else – a lingering tension. A newly built steel bridge juxtaposed with, well, nature itself seems very deliberate. Bridges do signify overcoming boundaries. But there may be an undercurrent suggesting imposed control, industrial imposition in the raw South African landscape. Editor: I'd agree! It’s the steel latticework cutting across the scene, dominating what would otherwise be quite a picturesque natural tableau. And note the scale, which you drew our attention to earlier. This isn’t just about infrastructure. Think of it as an announcement! An iron lung of empire. The anonymous nature of its creator somehow speaks volumes; there is no heroic creator but perhaps the steel, bridge and commerce itself becomes the "hero" instead. The solitary figure almost disappearing in the foreground reinforces a story, for me at least, about loneliness. A real pioneer perhaps or an archetype from a spaghetti western. Curator: That makes me see the underlying symbols in starker contrast: the solidity of the bridge itself versus the natural ebbs and flows of a river; industry meeting nature; progress vs tradition. I love that notion of announcing colonial dominance – and one figure that somehow underscores a much greater whole. The psychological heft in it feels like a warning too. Editor: It leaves you wondering, doesn’t it? I suspect it serves both as testament of engineering skill as well as somber foreboding about what that ingenuity portends for South Africa in particular, but really...everywhere. Curator: Indeed!