My work explores how memories can be shaped into objects — spanning across weaving, jewelry, writing & photography.
Like a gifting ceremony, my process consists of collecting a story and giving it back to its owner in another form.
At the intersection of anthropology, data-humanism and design practices, my research celebrates objects as testimonies, and surveys how design processes can be used as tools for remembrance.
Objects are known to help holding memories and narratives. Some moments worth remembering don’t necessarily leave a material trace. What if memories were a starting point to produce artefacts?
The idea is to work with different processes (digital and analog) that help translating narratives into their material testimonies. I like to consider new technologies as a step to initiate dialogues with traditional crafts, such as weaving and jewelry.
The productions, that I call keepsakes* can take many forms: each of them a materialization of its own story. Meant to be used as conversation-starters, these keepsakes are like a canvas for orality, for stories to be told and memories to be perpetuated.
*a small present, usually not expensive, that is given to you by someone so that you will remember that person
After studying information and communication sciences at CELSA Sorbonne, Claire Kail launched her creative agency Studio Saje. In 2020, she graduated with a Master in Creative Technologies from ENSCI Les Ateliers. She lives and works in between Paris and Champagne, France.