Heiligenweg te Paramaribo 1903 - 1910

Hendrik Doijer's photograph captures a street in Paramaribo, maybe from the late 19th, early 20th century, with a row of houses on stilts and a figure walking by. I am curious about how he framed it. Why this particular angle? It looks like it's all about the infrastructure. This raised walkway almost hides the houses and people behind it. It is an act of seeing and not seeing at the same time. You can see this is a constructed world. I find myself drawn to the lone figure walking on the right. Are they heading somewhere, lost in thought? We will never know. Doijer invites us to imagine their story and the stories of the people who built this structure. The photograph makes me wonder about the relationship between art and progress, and how our perspectives shift over time.