Gezicht op de suikerfabriek in Pangka 1869

Johan Conrad Greive created this watercolor of the sugar factory in Pangka. Here, the materiality of the image itself – paint on paper – is secondary to the scene depicted, which is all about industrial production. We see people, animals, and machines all working together to process sugarcane. The billowing smoke indicates a steam-powered technology. The sugar itself, though not visible, is the key material here. Its transformation from plant to marketable commodity drove complex systems of labor and trade. This image is therefore not just a picturesque landscape, but also a documentation of a global economic system in action. It reminds us that even a seemingly simple watercolor can be deeply implicated in social and industrial history.