“Where different stories or narratives are hidden”

On 16 May 2023 the artist, dancer, choreographer, and author Sandy Ceesay invited Grafikens Hus to a beautifully creative and captivating digital studio visit – from his studio in Linköping. As described by Sandy, the image world he creates is made out of new and never before told stories. The investigation of cultural heritage, especially his own cultural background, is also an important force of direction within Sandy´s art. Grafikens Hus guest curator Nilo Amlashi asked him a few questions.

What does printmaking mean to you and your practice?

My artistic practice is thoroughgoingly an investigation of memory, culture, grief, and silence. With the help of printmaking, I can uncover parts of these memories, seek, and find myself at different points, both at a geographical and metaphysical level, where different stories or narratives are hidden.

Which printing techniques do you mostly work with and why?

I mainly work with linoleum cut, mainly because it has been the easiest to access and to begin with.

In your own words, what signifies your graphical expression?

I would say that what signifies my expression through printmaking is a curious investigation around shape and different materials. A sense of grief, fragmented memories, or images that float throughout the pages. A stream that seeks for something, which also makes the images highly loaded with a lot of concealed tenors. And it is up to the observer to themselves decode or repel these images or stories.

Foto: Tracey Tomtene / Courtesy of the Artist