Bewijs van al dan niet ingeleverde metalen Possibly 1941 - 1947

This small document, Bewijs van al dan niet ingeleverde metalen, was printed by the Gemeente Utrecht. Look closely, and you see the paper itself—its color and slight imperfections. I imagine the hands that held it, the ink that marked it, and the machines that printed it. It’s just a form, yes, but it’s also a trace of a life, an era, a whole world of feelings. Think about the person who filled it out. The careful handwriting. The information they're being asked to provide. What were they thinking? What were they feeling? Did they ever think that this piece of paper would end up in a museum? It's kind of like a Gerhard Richter painting, or the readymades of Marcel Duchamp. It’s not about skill or expression in the traditional sense. It's about noticing, pointing, and reframing. Everyday life made monumental. I find a lot of kinship with that.