Klipsteenstraat en Emmaschool, Paramaribo 1903 - 1910

Hendrik Doijer captured this cyanotype image of Klipsteenstraat and Emmaschool in Paramaribo, showcasing a street imbued with both everyday life and industrial progress. Note the parallel lines of the railway track carving through the center of the image, bisecting the street. These tracks, symbols of modernity and connectivity, also evoke a sense of division. The rails remind us of the ancient Roman roads, or the Silk Road, pathways of exchange, but here, also potential barriers. Consider how linear perspectives in art, from Renaissance paintings to these modern tracks, direct the viewer's gaze, yet can also constrain it. The presence of figures along the railway suggests that the tracks are integrated into the daily life, transcending simple division. They become a canvas where life unfolds, where the past and future converge.