Blad 99 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 a register of the Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen was made sometime between 1930 and 1949. Imagine the hand that wrote these entries, carefully pressing down on the paper, the ink bleeding ever so slightly into the fibers. These annotations tell us so much about the girls and women who attended this school. I wonder what their stories were, what dreams they held as they embarked on this colonial education. Each entry is like a little portrait, a fragment of a life recorded in these lists of names and dates. Consider the signatures, each a unique expression of individuality. The inclusion of photographs adds another layer of depth. These little pictures are like windows into the past. As an artist, I love to imagine that the act of observing and recording is part of an ongoing conversation. Artists are always looking at what came before, responding, and reinterpreting. We build on the ideas of those who came before us, adding our own voices to the chorus.