I am a participant in a supportive development programme for artists run by the Sainsbury Centre of Visual, Norwich, called ‘Ways of Working’.
In the winter of 2022/23 we were asked to respond to the Sainsbury Centre’s collection. I removed non-European objects from the catalogue to explore ideas and feelings about decolonisation and what it means to respond, as an artist, to a culturally diverse collection. At first it felt like loss, but then the pages began to make playful overlaps, accidental collages of absence. It felt fine – things change, new things happen.
The book used for these collages was ‘Masterpieces of the Sainsbury Centre’ published by the Sainsbury Centre of Visaul Arts, UEA, edited by Ian Collins and with photographs taken by James Austin and Pete Huggins.