Legitimatiebewijs 

This is a Dutch Railways identification card, a seemingly simple object laden with cultural and historical weight. The card is a potent symbol of authority, bureaucracy, and control, yet also personal identity. Think of other forms of identification in various cultures and times, from passports to dog tags: all attempt to codify and manage human movement and belonging. But a card such as this also speaks to the darker side of order. In times of conflict, it could become an instrument of surveillance, segregation, or even persecution. Such a card, intended to provide assurance, could also become a marker of otherness and exclusion. Reflecting on this object, we are confronted with the complex interplay between order and chaos, belonging and alienation, and the cyclical patterns of history where symbols of authority can quickly transform into instruments of oppression.