Annika Stridh
Wasted Talent, 2023
Annika Stridh is a multidisciplinary artist based in New York City whose work blends painting, construction, and performance to create immersive installations. While working in New York for the duration of the GlogauAIR residency, Stridh was interested in objects that reflect the materiality of personal and interior life within a city. A sketchbook and an iPhone camera were the tools Stridh used to cultivate a habitual practice of creating, observing, and collecting data with intention during this time. Daily sketches to exercise the hand and mind, along with snapshots of day-to-day life in a city, became an archive that reinforced Stridh’s artistic practice.
Step One: Gather
This time marked a gentle return to my practice. I focused on acts of accumulation: drawing, journaling, cataloging, photographing, recording. The resulting imagery—sketches, snapshots, sketches of snapshots, sketches of sketches—reflects a search for the personal within layers of material. I was clearly very drawn to plastics, the single-use forever bundling into balls on every street and curb. I wanted to take care of this material by collecting it, storing it, cleaning it. My own big bundle.
My sketches further examined these plastic bundles/ trash treasures/ discard still lifes. While some of the trash treasures suggested narratives (like trophies wrapped up and discarded outside of a school), others revealed interesting colorways and shapes. Sketching allowed me to play with these different components and helped clarify the next steps of this project. An emphasis on playfulness was important throughout this process of gathering and reflecting on material.
