[5/x] this one caught my attention, because there were remnants of an old letter inside. there is something darkly intimate about opening a letter meant for another - especially in this case something sent to the holder of a family Estate - who lived in India. It is likely they were the same person who worked at the aforementioned Trading Company.
[4/x] some of them hint at an entire lived life, like this letter from the Department of Health and Welfare in what is likely Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec.
the rough texture of the old manila envelope hints at a time when the cheapest pulpy paper was used to save a few pennies.
[3/x] sometimes the previous owner leaves visible remnants of an envelope - just enough for a glance at an old address or post office stamp.
someone in Calcutta, India - at a trading company of some kind - wrote many letters. with some stamp identification work, we would know the year the letter was sent. this one was written on a typewriter.
[2/x] the first bag of stamps was already "processed" by the original owner: the envelopes had been soaked in cold water, and then stamps carefully separated after some time. my only job was to colour-sort them as i admired the artwork.
the second, third and fourth bags were all unprocessed - corners of envelopes snipped off by the previous owner, waiting to be processed at a later date.
as i learned how to soak each stamp and peel it apart, i began to appreciate that... despite the stamps being 50-80+ years old... hundreds were left unprocessed. i had stumbled upon someone's unfinished hobby. did they get bored of stamps? run out of time due to life circumstances?
or perhaps - and more likely - they had died. and these stamps were shuffled off in a bag of old possessions to the thrift shop i found them at.
this stamp was one of dozens sent to Australia. i suddenly realize that i am picking up this person's hobby from where they left off. there is a dark continuity to this archival work. turning one person's collecting into art.
sometimes i worry about dying in the middle of art projects, and wondering at what will happen to it all. i guess this is one possible outcome.
@vga256 My mom died about two years ago with a lot of unfinished projects and supplies. Her concern before she died was that stuff would get thrown out instead of going to someone else who could use it. I think of that now, you finding this prior half finished work and giving it purpose.
@elithebearded I can absolutely empathize with her. I suspect my mom has the same worries - she is an accomplished quilter. it is very hard to know what to do with all that stuff when they’re gone.
@vga256 interesting project. I had a stamp collection plus many unprocessed used stamps but I decided that I didn't want them as part of a downsizing project. I gave them to a local stamp collecting society. It was the artwork that appealed to me too 🙂
@CaraBruar they are unbelievably beautiful. i especially like the monochromatic prints. stamps became incredibly boring to look at when it became digital art
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