Blad 51 uit Stamboek van de leerlingen der Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen te 's-Gravenhage deel II (1930-1949) Possibly 1933 - 1939

This page from a student register, made in the Hague sometime between 1930 and 1949, has a certain graphic quality, with its handwritten names and notes, and little passport photos. Imagine the hand that inscribed these names, filling in the blanks, recording some snippet of a life. The whole piece is so process-oriented. It’s about the accumulation of information, a kind of bureaucratic gesture repeated over and over. Look at how each entry is framed within its ruled lines, each trying to neatly fit within its designated space. The students’ signatures are fascinating—each slightly different—full of personality. And then there are the photographs. These tiny windows into the past, portraits of young women. Who were they? What were their dreams? It reminds me of Hanne Darboven, and her systematic, repetitive, almost obsessive cataloging. Like Darboven, this page reveals the beauty inherent in systems and the human touch that inevitably disrupts them. In the end, it's all just marks on paper, traces of people and processes, echoing across time.