Arbeider bij arbeiderswoning op plantage Accaribo te Suriname 1916 - 1930

This photograph by Theodoor Brouwers, probably taken sometime in the early 20th century, gives us a glimpse into the life of workers on the Accaribo plantation in Suriname. There's something about the texture of the photograph itself, a kind of mottled graininess, that makes me think about the physical process of creating an image, like the way the chemicals interacted with the paper, a kind of alchemy from light to dark. The thatched roof of the worker’s dwelling feels almost organic, like it’s sprouting from the earth itself. Look at the way the photographer has positioned the banana plant in the foreground, its leaves large and imposing, it is almost like another dwelling in front of the first. The ladder propped against the house is interesting, too. It implies upward movement, maybe even aspirations, but it is also a fragile looking structure leaning against a more solid one. This picture resonates with the work of someone like Walker Evans, in that the act of looking becomes charged with ethical and social questions. I like how the picture holds space for these ambiguities, for the idea that a photograph can be both a document and a dream.