In my artwork, each line marks a moment in time. They are lines of experiences, stories, adventures, and explorations, these little lines etched into our memories.
I recently decided to add used postage stamps to some of my works, to add little snippets of interest and relief in the sea of lines.
I enjoyed stamp collecting as a kid and I also loved receiving letters! I remember I had a Japanese pen pal in primary school. We would write letters back and forth so she could practice her English. It was always exciting to open the mailbox with a letter addressed to me, amongst all the bills for Mum and Dad!
These days, letters have been replaced with emails. The art of letter writing is certainly a thing of the past and stamps are few and far between. My Aunty is a wonderful support in my art and she gifted me her stamp collection to use in my art.
I enjoyed sifting through her collection, wondering where these stamps had been, where they had come from and the stories they had told. Stamps are special little pieces of history, designed with images of our nation’s leaders, portraits of heroes and other significant people. Stamps of our landscapes, flora and fauna, sports and achievements, and significant movements in history. Like my art, they capture moments in time, events and memories. These stamps carried stories, secrets, hopes and dreams. They delivered news of sadness, joy and everything in between.
I have called my new body of work “Stories From Afar,” with many of the artworks having stamps on them from a particular year and the name linked to the year somehow. Some are named by their bingo call sign – like “Between The Sticks '86'” and “One More Time '79'” and others are named by the top Australian singles of that year… Like “I Should Be So Lucky”, the Kylie Minogue song that topped the charts in 1987 and another called “Dancing Queen” with stamps from 1976, thanks to ABBA.
These special works will be released on Sunday 28th January and my email subscribers will be notified first.
I hope people enjoy the nostalgia of the stamps and the little variation in my style.
Sheree x
