Koets rijdt over een ophaalbrug aan de Overtoom, Amsterdam 1880 - 1901

Curator: Here we have a fascinating gelatin-silver print titled "Koets rijdt over een ophaalbrug aan de Overtoom, Amsterdam"—that’s "Carriage crossing a drawbridge on the Overtoom, Amsterdam," believed to be created sometime between 1880 and 1901. Editor: The first thing that strikes me is the light. It feels like a languid, almost dreamlike state. The muted sepia tones make it feel like you're looking into the past, almost like a hazy memory. Curator: It certainly evokes a specific historical moment, doesn’t it? Consider the context. Urban expansion in Amsterdam was dramatically changing social structures. This image captures that shift. The bridge itself symbolizes connection and transition, yes, but also a division between rural and urban life. Editor: Mmh, but that carriage itself seems pretty unhurried. Like it’s deliberately moving at the city's own languid pace! Also the rigid lines of the bridge against the unruly foliage. I'd say this gelatin print has a certain tension. Curator: Absolutely. Photography as a medium was increasingly accessible, yet who had access to shaping narratives of urbanization? We see how the perspective of the photographer and perhaps the Dutch Stereoscopic Company frames how this specific moment and population are remembered. What's absent is almost as loud as what's there. Where are the workers, the marginalized? What power structures were present during that specific time? Editor: Yeah, and I wonder, who exactly is in that carriage and where are they going? And who are those patiently waiting as the carriage meanders on? I guess those tiny little blurs are secrets captured forever in light. Curator: Precisely! Photography during this period presented itself as objective reality; however, it’s crucial for us to unpack the hidden narratives and reflect on whose stories were intentionally archived. This challenges viewers to consider alternative narratives omitted by the camera’s singular lens. Editor: Makes me think of all those lost stories. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Well, looking at this print kind of gave me food for thought... nostalgic thoughts. Curator: Indeed! And it reminds me again about the importance of continuing dialogues concerning power, visibility, and historical remembering.