Olivia Azzopardi

Olivia Azzopardi, England, UK

Let’s Keep Dreaming Series

This collection of weathered ceramics, prints, and plaster is an ode to my tumultuous relationship with my body and mind during the pandemic. It all started when a friend recommended that I write three lines of something a day to express my feelings of hopelessness. As a university student, I felt lost and confused, and I started writing scrappy confessionals about how I hated myself and who I had become. That's when I became inspired by confessional poets and text-based artists such as Jenny Holzer and Tracey Emin, who transformed their pain into something tangible and public.

To create this series, I started by writing in black notebooks, which eventually led me to experiment with traditional letterpress on tactile and blotted paper. As I worked on this collection, I thought about the warmth of being reckless with friends and how the pandemic worsened my view on living through heartbreak. Art became my therapy to cope with these times, and I wanted to share that with others.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about my work. I hope it resonates with you as much as it does with me.

Green, Let's Keep Dreaming

Glazed Ceramic Earthenware

This piece features a shiny green ceramic page with frayed edges, bearing the imprint of traditional letterpress text on tactile and blotted paper. In this piece, the artist's original font, created on Illustrator, was translated onto the ceramic page from vacuum form and plaster to achieve a desirable 'relic' effect.

Blue, Let's Keep Dreaming

Glazed Ceramic Earthenware

This piece showcases a shiny blue ceramic with frayed edges imitating paper, featuring words and thoughts about drunken nights and fun times. The artist's use of traditional letterpress on tactile and blotted paper is evident, with the artist's own font translated onto the ceramic page from vacuum form and plaster.

I look into frenzied restaurants

Letter-press Ink on Blotted Paper

Created in 2020, the piece captures the artist's longing for a simpler time amidst the chaos of the pandemic. The letter-press ink is imprinted onto blotted paper with a poignant line that reads "I miss being carefree and happy, when will it return?" Through her art, Azzopardi reflects on the collective yearning for a return to normalcy in a time of uncertainty and change.

Let’s Keep Dreaming

Plaster Cast

This plaster cast’s inscriptions evoke a sense of conflicting emotions. A line towards the top says, "You have come so far," while a lower line says, "You're so stuck in the past." The inscription is done in bold lettering and seems to have been carved out of the surface, adding a sense of depth.