Abe Edgington, Trotting (Copied from a Photograph Taken by Eadweard Muybridge in 1878) c. 1890

Willem Constantijn Staring made "Abe Edgington, Trotting," a print, after a photograph by Eadweard Muybridge, sometime in the late 19th century. Muybridge's photographs froze moments imperceptible to the human eye, revolutionizing how we understand motion. But it's not just about science; it's about power, race, and the control of representation. Consider Muybridge's earlier work documenting Indigenous people: photography was often used as a tool of colonial observation and control. Staring's print, by copying Muybridge, puts another layer on the practice. What does it mean to take an image, filtered through one lens and re-render it through another? It speaks to the complex dance between observation, interpretation, and artistic license, and how each act subtly alters the narrative. We feel the tension between scientific objectivity and subjective artistic vision.