Could you explain what drew you towards this collection and how you started to navigate the early stages of your research?
I was first interested to find out that the donor is an anthropologist. My research has some crossover with anthropology and my aim was to find out: what does a graphic/symbol of individual essence look like when it comes from a personal archive? In the early stage of my research, I was looking for a link between the EAC and the individual soul: how can adopting a new culture and being part of history influence one’s essence? There was another collection that I was interested in, particularly to find a connection between life experiences, such as travelling back from Indonesia after the colonial time and now. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet the donor of the original collection, which is an essential element to my process. However, I found collection 1.0033 and was able to meet the donor in person and so carried on my research.
Have you worked with archival material before and if so, could you comment on the importance of responding to historical records within your practice?
I have never worked with archival material; however, the importance of the ‘archive’ is in the understanding of different experiences in different times and cultures, leading to greater awareness of global citizenship.
Your work is inspired by hidden histories that are semi-visible in the present. How has the act of stamp-making helped you communicate or explore this?
I am inspired by material and people. I do interview sessions before the stamp creation in order to capture the fundamental story. Stamp making is a process of actualising that story.
The final work, Observer, is a stamp of a fluid shape, gestural and organic. Could you explain this design and the search for ‘an essence’ you mentioned?
Observer represents ‘multi-mindset’: an ability to see the values and problems within mixed cultural contexts. The image works like a boiling cultural pot trying to understand its own experience and applying it to its surroundings.
My search for an ‘essence’ is to understand the culture and uniqueness of individuals because I think these qualities represent the world of now. I started to use a stamp to express my own graphic voice and also to use it as a tool to communicate with people. I wanted to understand people on a deeper level so I started a project to find this so-called ‘essence’ within an interview scenario. This led me to the Saudade project.
How important is the physical act of ‘stamping’ in your practice from a conceptual standpoint?
The importance is in the culture of the stamp itself, which includes the way people use it. Stamping has long been used in official documents, passports and wherever there is the need to identify an individual. There is already meaning within this: the self (or government) representation of identity and its association with object and print. My practice explores and subverts this.
Are there any strategies or themes developed during the Saudade project that you are keen to take forward into future works?
I found that creating symbolised graphics for an archive is very interesting, especially if it attempts to summarise a personal collection. It would be fascinating to continue this idea and develop an entire ‘alphabet’ of symbols for each collection in the EAC.