Maria Amidu originally studied glass and ceramics. She now produces site-specific works in response to various archives and collections. Narrative, memory and archives are central to her practice and she makes works around these themes to question the processes of documentation and the methodologies to preserve histories.
Maria is interested in the subjective element of recording that invariably remains hidden in the mapping of a wider, more authoritative history, and aims to develop projects that elicit more personal stories.
Recent projects include: Loop (The Foundling Museum, 2005). In January 2008 Maria became Artist in Residence at Parramatta Artists Studios, Sydney.
Maria Amidu was born in London in 1967. She graduated with a BA (Hons)
in 3D Design from Surrey Institute of Art & Design in 1989 and completed her MA in Glass & Ceramics at the Royal College of Art in 1992. On graduating she continued as a maker producing and exhibition work, both nationally and internationally. In 1995 she established her own glass-making studio in East London. In 1998 her visual practice took on a new dimension when she embarked on a writing project, moving her away from a purely decorative approach towards the development of installations and site-specific, collective projects.
Since 1998 she has been producing works in which narrative, memory and archiving play a central role. Maria Amidu’s work questions the process of documentation and the mechanisms we use to preserve histories. She is concerned with the subjective element of recording that invariably remains hidden in the mapping of a wider, authoritative history, and endeavors to make works which somehow excavate and reveal other stories.
Maria is third commissioned artist for iniva’s Future Collect project.