Meet the Artist: Mandy Al-Sayegh
Mandy El-Sayegh works across diverse media to examine how social, cultural and political orders are formed and deconstructed in the contemporary world. In large-scale paintings, table vitrines, immersive installations, performances and videos, she collages disparate fragments of information together, interrogating the ways that meaning might emerge from the relationship between these different source materials.
When did you develop your fixation on materiality?
Rather than materiality, I like to define my practice through methods. I’ve collected material since a young age, hoarding, arranging, and assembling. Despite being a painter, I’m very averse to blank grounds. Collaging is a method I use to deal with that horror vacui.
In an article in Financial Times you compare painting to printing money, this seems relevant to the postcards submitted to this auction which features euro notes. What does this metaphor mean to you?
This metaphor refers to the gold standard of painting and how its value remains steadfast, even in times of economic upheaval. Throughout history, artists and critics have commented on this.
I explore the actual printed matter of currency in this series, referring to the Buddhist tradition of joss paper. Joss paper—also known as hell money—is a stack of paper that is burned as a ritual to connect one to spirits, ancestors, and the dead. This ritual helps to pay off debts and bring good fortune. Joss paper originally consisted of paper with a gold square printed at the top of a column. With the development of printing methods, however, it has come to resemble replicas of currency from different countries.
Incorporating joss paper into my work infuses it with ritual and connects it to the history of burning archives in periods of political unrest.
How do you archive your found imagery and inspirations?
My archive often looks like an unsystematised mass of material. To the outsider, it may seem like there is no method of categorisation. It’s done quite informally, sorted in folders on a phone, in stacks of newspapers and materials in my library. Inspiration and ideas only form once I allow the materials to speak to one another, by making a mess of them in the studio.
What motivated you to participate in this auction raising money for War Child U.K?
Creativity is a resource that I can share, so it’s the least I can do.
Do you have any projects on the horizon which you would like to share?
I’m working on an installation and a series of performances for Art Basel this summer, as part of Art Basel Parcours, a public art programme with interventions in spaces around the city.
