Blad 155 uit Stamboek van de leerlingen der Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen te 's-Gravenhage deel II (1930-1949) Possibly 1948 - 1949

This page from a register for students at a Dutch Colonial School for Girls, was made sometime between 1930-1949, using ink on paper, in an unknown hand. The careful script, pressed into the paper’s surface, records names, dates and places, but this administration is disrupted by two photographic portraits of young women with signatures. The photos’ grey tones contrast with the linear inscriptions, suggesting a different, more personal engagement with the page. The handwriting is elegant, but has a hurried, work-a-day quality. Yet the signatures offer a glimpse into individual gestures. Look at how the letters flow and loop, revealing each signatory’s personality. The cursive loops are like brushstrokes, each one distinct and immediate. It makes me think of artists like On Kawara, whose daily date paintings similarly explore the passage of time through a blend of mechanical reproduction and manual application. Both explore a unique intersection between documentation and expression. The page is a reminder that even within systems of control, individuality endures, leaving its mark on the world.