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Archive of You

Monica Okello

Profile picture of Monica Okello

Hey! I'm Monica and I'm an interdisciplinary artist and designer based in London. My practice is motivated by my lived experience, providing perspective, honest representation, and building community.

Hey! I'm Monica and I'm an interdisciplinary artist and designer based in London. My practice is ...

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To achieve an accurate representation of the Black lived experience, free from the colonial gaze, requires authentic contribution from Black people directly.

Archive of You is a direct look into the archive, both at a macro and micro level, aiming to question and facilitate conversation around contemporary Black archival practices and the power of self-documentation by asking, How can we curate our lives authentically?

Saraphina in the garden is a photo book I made with the intention of it existing as an archive in itself, as part of my own personal archive, and someplace in the wider archive.

Final work

a photograph of a hand touching a black book with 'SARAPHINA IN THE GARDEN' and 'Monica Okello' embroidered on the front coverSpecial edition of Sarap

Saraphina in the garden

Special edition of Saraphina in the garden by Monica Okello, including:

A signed first edition of the book Saraphina in the garden

Housed in a handmade embroidered clamshell box, made by the artist

A Baryta print of Hands

Edition of 3 + 1 AP

  • a photograph of a handmade, black clamshell box from above, with 'SARAPHINA IN THE GARDEN' and 'Monica Okello' embroidered in black thread
  • a (close-up) photograph of a handmade, black clamshell box (viewed from the side), with 'SARAPHINA IN THE GARDEN' embroidered in black thread
  • a photograph of the inside of the handmade clamshell box, with a letter included at the bottom
  • inside page of the book Saraphina in the garden
  • top view of inside page of the book Saraphina in the garden
a photograph of a double page spread picture of a Coleus plant in Tanzania

Garden, 2023

Double page spread of a Coleus plant in Saraphina in the garden

Research and process

  • a photograph of three book blocks, bound and glued
  • a photograph of three book blocks, bound and glued

Digital Embroidery

Testing on green buckram book cloth for the archival box, with the previous tests shown below it. See more of my research and process for this project here.

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Archive of You

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