Werken op het land 1939 - 1943

Editor: We’re looking at a page from an album containing gelatin silver prints, titled "Werken op het land," which translates to "Working the Land," and was created anonymously between 1939 and 1943. There’s an almost clinical feeling to the photos – everyone in white uniforms, lined up neatly. What story do you think this album page is trying to tell? Curator: Oh, that clinical feel… It hits me too! Makes you wonder, right? It reminds me of old medical documentaries, or even propaganda. It’s social realism, attempting to portray an honest image of labor and ordinary life. Except, is it truly ‘honest’ if everyone’s dressed in white? Maybe there is a sense of idealistic and optimistic vision of the working class, which clashes, rather fascinatingly, with the harsh backdrop and the implied labor itself. The barren landscape underneath a huge skyline gives an impression that everyone's working together, a well-oiled machine doing its role. I wonder who they're working for. What sort of message do you get about labor and identity here? Editor: I didn’t even consider the potential for propaganda. I saw the uniforms as, maybe, a sign of respect for the work? Like ceremonial clothing. But your perspective definitely shifts it. And good question: What message is really there, other than 'work?' Curator: It is a puzzling photo, right? And it makes me think… maybe that uniform is a uniform. Think of labourers during the war! Editor: Ah, I hadn't put the historical context together! It does make the optimism you mentioned take on a much darker, almost sarcastic tone. Curator: Exactly! And isn’t it fascinating how a simple photograph, or a collection of them on an album page, can hold so much unspoken narrative once you start digging beneath the surface? These prints transform into little time capsules. Editor: Definitely, it really shows how much history is layered into every image. I’ll never look at a simple photo the same way again.