PATCHWORK - PATCHES WORKSHOP

June 2024

“I’ve never been asked to turn myself into a postcard before.”

Context

The self can feel like a distant relative at time.

As considerate people, we often take on and play multiple roles in the interest of facilitating the moments we find ourselves in. We often fold ourselves in half or bend ourselves backwards to meet expectations and reach goals.

In this workshop I wanted to create a liminal space. And in between of sorts.

When reflecting on my background in photography, project design and legacy strategy, it became evident to me that many creatives are in need of unadulterated moments of novel, yet familiar creativity. An opportunity to reconnect with an internalised sense of self.

In the madness of modernity, it is very easy to become an embodiment of the expectations you hold, and lose the thread connecting you to your true self.

Project

Participants were instructed to take images in the moment, while also reflecting on past images stored on their devices.

Participants could then instantly print these symbols of self and pair them with a wide range of stickers, coloured writing materials, and personal design choices to create a square postcard which could act as an abstract portrait of who they believed they were in that very moment.

Following the session, each postcard was then captured in an attempt to immortalise each persons perspective of themselves and their slice of our shared moment together.

Finally, all the postcards were then collated to produce a collaboratively created visual art installation which continued to play in the workshop space as the day settled and the room became darkened by the setting sun.

Challenges

I am a big believer in the power of togetherness. I am very drawn to the power of participation when it comes to our collective wellbeing and survival. As social beings, we benefit greatly from the freedom to act within our personal perspectives of ourselves, but in a way that contributes to the collective wellness of the people we share the planet with.

Through this workshop I was able to create a space that allowed participants to feel their own freedom, and decide where they would like to take it - but to do so in the presence of others who are doing the same without the pressure of having to fit within a certain expectation.