Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design   2008/2009

Hannah Cushion

My work is concerned with issues of preservation and archiving, using traditional methods of preservation in unconventional ways such as shirts 'preserved' in salt and photographs 'preserved' in wax. The original objects are ultimately altered/defaced but become precious again in their own right, metamorphosing into something new.

I am interested in how we store these objects within our homes - in shoe boxes, cupboards, drawers and tins. How long do we keep these things, and for whom? How precious are they? What should we keep? Do we know they are still or have they slipped down the side out of sight and out of mind? I use found photographs that were once important enough to keep for many years, yet are now unimportant enough to keep but still too valuable to destroy.

The photographs I use are images that would have existed as part of someone’s personal collection and the furniture I use is also domestic furniture from a specific era. The furniture is wood and comes from the 60’s and 70’s giving it time to gather its own patina of memory. Drawers hold and protect their contents and by way of shape also frames the object in much the same way as a frame protects and shows off its contents.

The opportunity to be a part of AA2A scheme would allow me to develop my practise providing me with the opportunity to benefit from Saint Martins facilities as well as allowing me to work in an arena for critical debate. I hope this experience will allow me to develop a new and exciting body of work that I can form into an installation away from campus.