Promotieavond op de Technische School te Bandoeng 1933

This small, anonymous black and white photograph captures a 'Promotieavond op de Technische School te Bandoeng'. I wonder about this room—the polished floor, the open windows, the tropical light flooding in. I imagine the photographer carefully composing the shot, trying to capture the gravity of the occasion. The men are arranged in neat rows, some in light-colored suits, others in white shirts, each face a study in concentration. There is a feeling of colonial order—an atmosphere of formality. I imagine it was a hot, humid day, and the photographer was sweating behind the camera, willing everyone to stay still. The photograph captures a particular moment in time, a specific place, and the hope and ambition of the men gathered in that room. Like painting, photography is a kind of time travel. The photograph offers us a portal into another world, a world that has long since disappeared but still echoes in the present.