Blad 140 uit Stamboek van de leerlingen der Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen te 's-Gravenhage deel II (1930-1949) Possibly 1947

This page from a student book from the Colonial School for Girls and Women, made in The Hague between 1930 and 1949, shows an assemblage of photographs and handwriting. It is an anonymous work, or rather a collective one, in which the marks are a combination of printed images, handwritten entries and the rubbings and abrasions that come with time. I love how the photos feel stuck in place, yet they are also floating, like memories. The writing seems so precise and careful, yet it’s also got this looseness, like a casual conversation. Look at how the entries are organized in a grid, each student getting a little box, but the photos break that grid and overlap, creating a kind of collage effect. It reminds me of the work of someone like Gerhard Richter, who also uses photos and collage in his paintings, but here the effect is less about the individual and more about the collective experience of these young women. The whole thing feels so fragile, like a whisper from the past. It’s not about telling us exactly what to think or feel, but about inviting us to imagine.