Land- of routekaart in Ghana c. 1916 - 1945

This small page from a sketchbook, was made sometime around the first half of the 20th century by Reijer Stolk using pencil, ink, and paper. Imagine Stolk hunched over this page, a record of his travels in Ghana. It's like a mind map, not just a geographical one but a record of thoughts, expenses, and observations jumbled together. The lines are scratchy, immediate, capturing the feeling of being on the move. It reminds me of other artists like Bas Jan Ader whose journeys are so melancholic and filled with longing. I wonder what Stolk was thinking as he drew each place, as he noted down his expenses? Each mark has a purpose, a need to record, remember, and make sense of his experience. But these scribbles also feel like a personal language, a way of communicating to himself. It feels raw and unedited. A beautiful example of how the process of making is the journey, not the destination.