29/09/2026
Like many creative people, I have more than one creative outlet. As Tinlizzy, I collect and bring together vintage treasures — maps, guides, stationery, tins, ephemera, photographs, games and other found objects. I’m drawn to their graphics, colour and patina, but also to the stories they carry and the traces of the people who have owned and used them.
I photograph and research each object, discovering where and when it was made, how it was used, and any other details that capture my interest. Each object is then carefully recorded in a database.
What began as a practical way of keeping track of my stock has become something much more. The database has evolved into a living artwork: an ever-growing record of the objects that speak to me, the stories I uncover, and the connections between them.
My wider art practice is conceptual and explores ideas around the souvenir, the collector and the collection. I’m interested in why we choose to keep certain objects, what makes something meaningful, and what happens when an object moves from one collection into another.
In this sense, Tinlizzy is about more than collecting. I’m temporarily holding and documenting these objects as they move between stories and collections. I become a custodian or intermediary between an object’s past and its next life, while the database records that journey. Each piece has a life before it reaches me — and, when it leaves, it becomes part of someone else’s story.
