In 2017 the exhibition The Birth of the Indonesian youth movement travelled between the Dutch National Archive and the Indonesian National Archive. Part of the exhibition are photographs...Show moreIn 2017 the exhibition The Birth of the Indonesian youth movement travelled between the Dutch National Archive and the Indonesian National Archive. Part of the exhibition are photographs documenting the rise of these movements. This thesis seeks to analyze the narrative at work in the photographs and the framing of the exhibition and how these relate to one another. The photographs are analyzed in the context of the growing independence movement in the Dutch East Indies. This thesis argues that a shift in agency of the people in the Indies realizes a transcultural narrative in the photographs. Moreover, it argues that, by isolating the photographs from further historical context, the photographs are reduced to only one object and therefore largely loose their political importance. Ultimately, this thesis acknowledges the complexity in the depiction of a contested colonial past and analyzes the ways in which this is exhibited.Show less
