The concept of mail-art largely took root in the 1950s and 60s when artists of the avant-garde Fluxus movement began posting drawings to each other as postcards, instead of selling them or displaying them in exhibitions. Having become disenchanted with the exclusivity and elitism of the artworld they experienced, the movement favoured the process of art rather than the finished product itself, looking to Futurists and Dadaists for inspiration,

American mail-artist, Robert Watts, famously acquired a series of postage-stamp dispensers owned by the United States Postal Service and planted his own handmade artistamps inside them. The machines were then publicly displayed, where viewers could then purchase the tiny works of art by inserting a coin. Pop artist Ray Johnson is often considered the father of mail-art as he founded the New York Correspondence School in the 1960s, which still remains active today. This project was essentially a large mailing list of collaborators, to whom he would send and receive mail-art. Frequently his mailings would encourage engagement from its recipients to create a chain effect, such as an invitation to add to an art piece and forward it onwards or cut a postcard into sections and send each one to a new participant. From this, artists in other countries began establishing their own mail-art networks, boycotting the official systems and formalities of the art world. The key ideology was a fabric through which a broad accessibility to the artwork was created, breaking the boundaries between art and the public. By using the postal system to distribute their creations, artists bypassed the exclusivity of galleries and the commercial world as well as the judgement of critics. For many artists, it was the easiest and most affordable route to extend their reach, share feedback and collaborate with others from further afield.

I first discovered this domain through Australian writer and artist, @naomibulger, on Instagram about a year ago. Her delicately illustrated watercolour and gouache envelopes was a touching reminder of the personal delight brought by receiving a handwritten letter in the post. Now intrigued by the possibilities of mail-art, I stumbled upon the penpalling community of Instagram and was quickly launched into making my own series of envelopes. The following is a collection of mail-art letters I’ve sent and received over the past two months, reaching penpals across the globe including Norway, the United States, Taiwan and Japan.