Ancestral traces (2022)

Role: Graphic design, artistic research

Themes: Animism, ancestral knowledge

Material: Romandruk paper

Ancestral traces is a publication on an alternative reality based on a family story.

In the tale, the ancestors are saved by sharks from intruders trying to enter their island. In this alternative reality, the sharks and ancestors merge forms and have travelled to the Dutch coast to protect their descendants once again.

The publication takes on a science magazine-like form and gathers all evidence on the sightings of the ancestors appearing.

The project is based on a research on ikat patterns: woven fabrics used for sarongs in Maluku. In this research we found patterns of fish people, which reminded me of the story my dad used to tell me.