Art goes global a postcard a day

FREEDOM: Steffen Kreft said it was a change to be doing his own art within his own guidelines rather than working for a client. PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

Greytown-based artist Steffen Kreft is displaying 383 individually-designed postcard reproductions at Aratoi as part of the Kokomai Creative Festival.

The postcards, created by Mr Kreft in his home country of Germany, were mailed to friends throughout the world, with Kreft making and mailing one postcard each day for more than a year.

He said that the One Postcard a Day project is his favourite work of all he had undertaken.

"It was just so wonderful to do," he said.

"It was a threefold concept of the postcards being a diary, a way to connect with friends, and it was a piece of free art that I do every day.

"It just felt right. It just felt like that's how life should be - just focusing on the good things."

Kreft said it was a change to be doing his own art within his own guidelines rather than working for a client.

"The art aspect of it was really inspiring to me because I combined so many different media. Mixed media, collages, photography, drawing, painting, everything.

"It just only had to fit on a 15x10cm piece of card so that was the only restriction really."

The reproductions of the postcards, which are all interlinked in the hanging display, depict Kreft's journey over his year in Germany.

"Everything is quite stressful because I only came back from overseas last Thursday so it's like whoa so much to do now," he said.

"This is the first time that these postcards have been exhibited like this."

He said some of the key selections of the postcards are the ones with animals wearing traditional German clothing.

These designs have been translated into small prints and have also been used as cloth bag designs that are available for purchase at Aratoi.

The display opened at Aratoi on Friday.