I am an artist born in Netherlands. When I was young I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. I studied history and at the same time I did some painting, photography and played music in a band. I liked Frank Zappa and The Kinks.

I quit painting and music (lousy painter / mediocre musician) and focused on journalism, took it more professionally. I did writing and photography. After a time, I concentrated in photo.

In 2002 a friend of mine, editor of a Dutch magazine, asked me to join him on a trip to Mozambique. I was very much interested because of the long term war consequences of this country. But he wanted to publish something completely different. My task: to photograph decentralization of administration, supported by Dutch development aid.

-My goodness… is there anything more interested than that? – I asked my friend.
-No, no, no.
-Ok, let’s go.

I thought more about it and it sounded interesting after a while. So we started visiting offices and government employees. The first pictures were in black and white (a lot of my work at the time was in b&w). After Mozambique I decided to continue portraying these bureaucrats behind their desks. I asked a journalist, also friend of mine, Will Tinnemans, to join me on the next chapter: India. That’s how the project Bureaucratics started. I used b/w and color. When I saw the results, I thought, this is so much better in color. After India, we went on (...)

FULL INTERVIEW: http://www.bulkka.com/jan-banning/

Bolivia, 2005. Mario Calizaya Condor (b. 1951) is deputy mayor of Betanzos, Cornelia Saavedra province. He completed elementary school only and subsequently was a farmer. Monthly salary: 1,200 bolivianos ($ 149, euro 133).

France, 2006. Pascale Hoornaert (b. 1952) works for eight hours a week as town clerk in Ancienville (population 78), Aisne department, Pidardie region. She holds the same position in two other villages nearby, working a total of 31 hours per week. Monthly salary: 1,025 euro ($ 1,348).

India, 2004. Sushma Prasad (b. 1962) is an assistant clerk at the Cabinet Secretary of the State of Bihar (population 83 million) in The Old Secretariat in the state capital, Patna. She was hired “on compassionate grounds” because of the death of her husband, who until 1997 worked in the same department. Monthly salary: 5,000 rupees ($ 110, euro 100).

Russia, Siberia, 2004. Lyudmila Vasilyevna Malkova (b. 1959) is a secretary to the mayor of the city of Tomsk, Tomsk province. She and her colleague take turns, working every other day, seven days a week, at least 12 hours a day. Monthly salary: 10,500 rubles ($ 375, euro 285).