Blad 158 uit Stamboek van de leerlingen der Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen te 's-Gravenhage deel II (1930-1949) c. 1949

This page from a student register was made sometime between 1930 and 1949 by an anonymous hand, probably using ink on paper. Just imagine the methodical labor of writing, documenting, and keeping all of this in order. Each entry has a different texture of handwriting. You can see how the pen falters and presses hard into the page. In one entry, someone has attached a photograph. I wonder who she was, what was she like? Perhaps she was a painter too. I love the signatures. All the different ways we have of presenting ourselves to the world. It's like seeing a dance across the surface, each name a unique gesture. I think about all the marks we make in our lives and how they accumulate like layers of paint, telling stories we may not even be aware of. And I wonder who will be looking at my marks in 50 years?