Boerderij La Haye Sainte nabij Waterloo

Curator: This albumen print by Pierre-Edouard Dechamps, dating from 1863 to 1880, captures the Farm of La Haye Sainte near Waterloo. Editor: The image feels…stark. The bare trees lining the road create this almost severe framing for the farmhouse. A reminder, maybe, of austerity, and a life defined by the earth and work? Curator: It’s important to remember that La Haye Sainte wasn’t just any farm; it was the site of intense fighting during the Battle of Waterloo. Dechamps made other photographs of famous buildings or sights near the location, all in the realist style. Considering the location’s connection with one of the biggest upheavals in European political power, I think this image also brings to the forefront war as a human project, reflecting its lasting impact on the land. Editor: I see what you’re getting at. The physical making of the photograph too interests me, particularly this albumen print, derived from egg whites and carefully applied to the paper surface, to me speaks to a specific moment when artistry meets industrial labor in photographic practices, and its status of reproduction is at an intersection. The choice to use albumen in printing connects the artistic vision to this practical craft—the farm producing, essentially, one of the ingredients used to immortalize itself! Curator: I like the way you’ve tied the process so literally to the subject matter! Also, to add nuance, while Waterloo might be known as a turning point that resulted in many countries gaining, holding, or losing power in Europe, the same is not true of the laboring class. I wonder what political motivations were behind depicting it as empty and lifeless, as if only power or political parties were worthy to win or lose during the conflict. Editor: And perhaps the choice of the location has more layers of symbolism than immediately meet the eye—depicting Waterloo itself could be contentious! I will now always think about this landscape when I look at future historical material to consider how this specific visual of La Haye Sainte relates to its labor. Curator: It's certainly a powerful lens to examine history through. Now I see the empty landscape, the quiet farmhouse, echoing of power and its human cost, which reminds me we cannot disconnect this artwork from the legacy of colonialism or empire and labor.