Compilation 001
Artists: Sarah Nguyen, Mami Takahashi, & Eden Radfarr
Our collaboration began with a suggestion from Mami. She had an idea for a community-involved audio project in which each participant would record their surroundings for one minute at a designated time in their respective time zones. This would create a virtual collaborative action that addressed the idea of natural and human-made Time. Sarah and Eden said “Let’s do it!”, and so we began recording for one minute three times a week at our respective 11ams. This became the first in a series of collaborative prompts and creative dialogs that led to the birth of our trio; S.E.M. collective.
“Untitled” handmade card by Mami Takahashi, 2021 6 ½” x 4 ¾”. Letterpress text from Eden + Sarah on handmade Japanese Kozo fiber paper by Mami with watermarks based on phonetic words that she needed to look-up in the dictionary when reading articles on immigration.
From those collaborations, we created the work in Compilation 001, the result of six months of journaling, list-making, translation, individual production, and laughing together over Zoom among the members of S.E.M. collective. The work made for this show utilizes traditional modes of making that are used as tools to embody the idea of art-making as world-making. This collection of work very much grows out of our necessarily domestic experiences as the pandemic has evolved and our attempts to reach out across virtual space to breach the isolation through shared communion in art.
Handmade Buttons by Mami Takahashi, Assembled from M.’s collection of hand-made papers, mailing envelopes from her mother and text fragments from S. and E.’s poems. (set of 3 in MAX) 2” x 2”
These materials bridge the physical distance between us. They grow out of our shared creative explorations and are as interested in the ephemera and remnants of the creative process as they are in delivering a novel conversation between art object and viewer, the emphasis being on interaction and discovery more than functionality. Key elements of our practice include experimentation, playful risk-taking, archive building, digital interpolation, and creating connection across distance. By bringing these works together in unfamiliar sites, we unearth previously obscured facets of the works, while creating new meanings in juxtaposition.
Our digital works are derived from our 3x weekly 1 minute audio journal and 1 minute mark making practices. Audio files reflect our lives in lockdown over a period of time.
‘ Muzik vidyos’ are made from three audio tracks and three images from the same day, layered with web generated sonifications of the composited images.
‘Und, und… #04232021’ “muzik vidyo” by Eden Radfarr 1:50
‘Feeling Low #28042021’ “muzik vidyo” by Eden Radfarr 2:55
About S.E.M. Collective
S.E.M. collective is a trio of US-based artists, Mami Takahashi, Eden Radfarr, and Sarah Nguyen who came together during the pandemic via a virtual residency.We have yet to meet in person. Key elements of our collective practice include experimentation, playful risk taking, archive building, digital interpolation and creating connection across distance. As multimedia artists we enjoy interweaving our hand-making practices and digital processes. We use various software that employ algorithmic processing and AI tools to combine and manipulate the raw material we generate.
About the Artists
Sarah Nguyen
Sarah Nguyen, a visual artist based in Columbia, MO, uses cut paper forms as her medium to evoke memory, play, ritual, folklore, history, and nature.
Eden Radfarr
Eden Radfarr is an interdisciplinary artist based in Albuquerque, NM. She uses found materials to work intuitively and spontaneously, allowing the process to guide her practice towards connections, juxtapositions, disorientations, and recombinations.
Mami Takahashi
Mami Takahashi is a visual artist from Tokyo, currently based in Portland, OR, who uses photography, performance, installation, and urban intervention to explore the visible and invisible complexities of being a Japanese woman living in the US.
Our remote collaboration provided a mutual support system of shared practices while revitalizing our individual art practices amidst the pandemic. The works made for this show explore aspects of common themes of identity, alienation, femininity, belonging and interdependence. By bringing these works together, we discovered new layers of existing meaning while creating new work as a collective.
We are really excited to see how our works interact with each other in physical space at our upcoming show in April 2022 at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and The Arts in Natchitoches, LA