P3394-3402

Set of nine silkscreen prints in an edition of 50 by Gambian-British artist, Khadija Saye (1992-2017), also known as Ya-Haddy Sisi Saye, who died in the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June 2017. The prints were made from high-resolution raw scans of original tintypes created by Saye with the help of artist Almudena Romero. The original photographs formed a series titled Dwelling: in this space we breathe, and six of them were exhibited in the Diaspora Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale.

The series is a set of portraits of the artist who is shown holding objects of spiritual significance in The Gambia. The works are accompanied by a printed statement by Saye:

"The series was created from a personal need for spiritual grounding after experiencing trauma. The search for what gives meaning to our lives and what we hold onto in times of despair and life changing challenges. We exist in the marriage of physical and spiritual remembrance. It’s in these spaces in which we identify with our physical and imagined bodies. Using myself as the subject, I felt it necessary to physically explore how trauma is embodied in the black experience. Whilst exploring the notions of spirituality and rituals, the process of image making became a ritual in itself. The journey of making wet plate collodion tintypes is unique in the sense that no image can be replicated and the final outcome is out of the creator’s control. Within this process, you surrender yourself to the unknown, similar to what is required by all spiritual higher powers: surrendering and sacrifice. Each tintype has its own unique story to tell, a metaphor for our individual human spiritual journey. The process of submerging the collodion covered plate into a tank of silver nitrate, ignites memories of baptisms, the idea of purity and how we cleanse in order to be spiritually sound. The application of the collodion transcends the photographic process, it is a reflection, physical manifestation of my relationship to the deep-rooted tradition of African spirituality. The laborious process involved with tintypes addresses the current disposable era where materials are rapidly produced and short lived. We forget to live through the moment, remain in the silence, and work on our internal connections"

Printed by the Estate of Khadija Saye in collaboration with master printer Matthew Rich, Jealous and The Studio of Nicola Green.