Christina Seely is a visual artist whose photographic practice stretches into the fields of science, design, and architecture. Her work is exhibited nationally and internationally and is featured in the collections of The Museum of Contemporary Photography and The Walker Art Center among many others. She received a 2014 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship. Her first monograph, Lux, was co-published by Radius Books and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in 2015.
Have you designed a stamp before?
No. This is my first time.
What was the most interesting or fun aspect of designing a poster stamp? What unique challenges did it present?
In my work I am interested in creating awareness around global environmental issues. The challenge was how to use the photographic language in a less usual way to help draw attention and translate a serious but accessible message.
Tell us about the art. Did you create something new for this stamp?
These images are iterations of a set of kinetic mirrored light box portraits called Next of Kin I created using specimen of endangered species from the Museum of Natural History at Harvard. The idea of the stamp is a nice dialogue as a message in motion with the animal kingdom as a network and interacting elements of ecosystems.
Anything else?
The animal portraits on the stamp and their status:
Top row
Mountain Anoa, Bubalus Quarlesi – Endangered
Spanish Ibex, Capra Pyrenaica – Vulnerable
Pig-Tailed Macaque, Macaca Nemestrina – Vulnerable
Middle row
Jaguar, Panthera Onca – Near Threatened
Pig-Tailed Macaque, Macaca Nemestrina – Vulnerable
Maned Wolf, Chrysocycon Brachyurus – Near Threatened
Bottom row
Siberian Tiger, Panthera Tigris Altaica – Endangered
African Hunting Dog, Lycaon Pictus – Endangered
Sable Antelope, Hippotragus Niger – Vulnerable