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 is page 51 from a register of students at the Colonial School for Girls and Women in The Hague, dating from between 1930 and 1949. It’s intriguing, isn’t it? I love that you can see the process here. It’s all about the grid: ruled lines in ink organize the information. The page is divided into sections for names, addresses, and personal details. There’s handwriting, which is cool because you can see these individual personalities coming through, even in the bureaucratic script of the time. Then there are the photographs, pasted onto the page. This combination of elements makes for a fascinating material presence. There’s a sort of dialogue happening between the handwritten text and the photographic images. The photographs next to the handwriting really take my interest; it reminds me of the cut and paste aesthetic in the work of Martha Rosler, who often brings together documentary and surreal imagery to create an unsettling but compelling dynamic. It makes me think about how art can be a conversation across time.