The Artists / Andrea Sayers

Click on each question below to view Andrea's response.

1. Have you worked with museum objects before? more »I often work with collections or groups of objects which have a historical and personal significance, but this is the first time I have worked specifically with museum objects.

2. How did you go about choosing the objects to work with? more »I visited the Museum a few times to spend time with the objects and with curator Lesley Botten (as she knows the objects well), took lots of photographs and notes. I also discussed with Lesley which objects were important to the collection but were often overlooked by viewers.

3. What attracted you to the objects you chose? more »I am always drawn to objects which show wear and tear through use; these marks tell the story of the people who used the items as well as the story of the objects themselves. Domestic objects, or mundane objects used within or connected to the home or daily life. The over-looked things which hold an iconic value through their daily use, which hold stories that are now forgotten.

4. How did you research the objects further? more »Reading about the history of weaving in Dunfermline, the items made, but also the people who worked there, what their working days were like and the equipment they used. I also visited the oldest building in Dunfermline where weaving took place to get a sense of where it all happened.

5. Did you think about who originally made/used the object? more »Yes, this is an intrinsic part of the work. The items chosen were all things which would have been held in the worker's hands, daily.

6. How did you decide what to make? more »This always happens intuitively after initially spending time with the objects. When I am carrying out initial research in the form of photographs, drawing, note taking and so on, the best way to respond slowly emerges as I get a feel for the objects, their memories and stories.

7. How did you make it? more »The transparencies developed from initial photographs I took of the objects as research. I also had an image in my head of the objects emerging from darkness in a glowing light reflecting their hidden significance, seen in a light that they would never have been seen in before. They were re-photographed with slide film using a medium format camera. The decision was made to present them as lightboxes as I felt they required to be objects in their own right.

8. What do you plan / want to do next? more »I am currently writing up a PhD proposal, with research centred on ideas of home, belonging and displacement within the context of Gaelic culture. This will focus on domestic spaces and relics, and the self-writing carried within them, and I hope to work with small museum collections on the Hebridean islands off the west coast of Scotland. I am also working with the Ross of Mull Historical Centre as a Research Assistant on a two year funded oral history project, while developing exhibition work focused on collections of objects, for Limousine Bull, Aberdeen, and The Meffan Gallery, Forfar.