Dari Hutan Purba Menjadi Perkebunan: Fotografi, Propaganda Kemakmuran, dan Perubahan Lanskap di Sumatera Timur, 1860an-1930an

Abstract

This article aims to explore the use of photographs to reconstruct the colonial capitalist modes of production
of the past effected on the landscape. The penetration of capitalism signified by the expansion of the
plantation has brought about the major transformation on the East Coast Sumatra's landscape that can be
traced with photographs. Basically, the visualization and publication of the production process by the
plantation's company and its association were aimed to shape the image of the plantation as a prosperity
bearer in the colony of East Coast of Sumatra. Nevertheless, the photos revealed the dark sides of the
exploitation of natural resources on a massive scale. The plantation photographs showed deforestation, landuse changes, and plantation expansion that became a tangible footprint of the colonial exploitation in the
East Coast of Sumatra.