Blad 94 uit Stamboek van de leerlingen der Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen te 's-Gravenhage deel II (1930-1949) Possibly 1937 - 1939

This page from the "Register of Students of the Colonial School for Girls and Women in The Hague," was made sometime between 1930 and 1949. It's anonymous, which makes you wonder about the hand that put it all together. Each entry on this page is like a mini-portrait, a snapshot of a person’s life meticulously recorded, written in ink that runs with the spontaneity of handwriting. Look at how the penmanship varies, flowing from careful script to quick notes. See the little black and white photographs, they're glued in, each a small, tangible piece of someone’s story. I see a narrative of names and places, of women embarking on journeys, both literal and metaphorical. The text is a physical act, a way of pinning down the ephemeral. Like, how do we capture a life, anyway? The combination of the grid-like structure of the ledger, the individual handwriting, and the photographs suggests an ongoing conversation, a constant exchange between order and chaos, intention and chance.