Bestrijden van ziektes door een zogaanaamde 'rattenoven' in Malang 1900 - 1935

This stereoscopic photograph shows the burning of rodents in Malang, Java, by Neville Keasberry. The smokey monochrome palette gives it a documentary feel, like photojournalism. The texture is really interesting, the roughness of the stone wall in the background against the smooth smoke that rises from the ‘rat oven’ in the foreground. There are multiple marks of labour throughout the shot, from the stacked wood to the corrugated iron on the floor, each telling their own story. All the lines lead towards that central inferno, the hot spot. Photographs like this remind me of the work of someone like Fred Herzog, who also captured a very specific time and place in his images, and whose attention to detail elevated the everyday. Ultimately, this is a moment captured in time, of working people, labour and industry, but is it art? I think so!