Continuing our interview series with alumni, we talk to Amparo Coiduras MA Graphic Design Communication 2018 graduate, whose work was recently in the 2018 MA Summer Show.
Amparo tells us how her practice has developed during her time at Chelsea and what she’s currently working on:
The project I included in the Summer Show was called Why Are They Watching Me?
Society is facing new challenges driven by the level of naïve trust users have with social media.
After the scandal with Cambridge Analytica a new era of thinking has emerged and the right for privacy and protection online has become a priority for public debate.
As the author I aim to track down and reveal the massive storage of information from my own social media accounts and document the reactions when this is shared with others. How can we modify our behaviour with social media and what will become of our digital personas in the future?
This work began when the scandal of Cambridge Analytica was exposed. I needed to show my audience the need of digital privacy and the good and bad consequences of massive use of social media.
The workshops at Chelsea helped me try and discover new paths, to experiment and find the best way of communicating my aim.
My biggest influences during my time at Chelsea have been the streets of London and my mom.
What I’ve enjoyed most about living in London is the city. I’m in love with London. I just love getting lost on the streets of the city, the markets and the multiculturalism.
An external project I participated in whilst at Chelsea was ‘Souvenirs for the Future’ for the Tate Exchange at Tate Modern.
A group of the MA Graphic Design Communication Students organised and ran a workshop for the public at the Tate Modern, as part of the programme of events within the Tate Exchange.
I’m currently developing a project with Flying Object agency and Shobana Jeyasing called ‘Spanish Flu Now’ as a part of 1418 now the UK’s arts program for the First World War Centenary. I went to the XIX World Sociology Congress held in Toronto, July 2018 to give an oral presentation about how graphic design communication can work towards social and political issues with the specific example of my project.
After graduation, next autumn, I’m going to go to Boston, USA and after that I’ll probably start a PhD. I have now more ambition than ever, I feel ready and strong to start my professional career.
I’m proud to be a Chelsea student as it has given me the opportunity to explore and discover myself.
The advice I’d give to new students starting my course is to be prepared, don’t be afraid and that communication is key. If you need help, ask for it and always support yourself and your classmates. Nothing is as good or as bad as it first seems.
My time at Chelsea has been life changing, challenging and unforgettable.
If you would like to see more of Amparo’s work, please visit her website or Instagram page.
You can also view Amparo’s Summer Show project “Why Are They Watching Me?” and more recent work “The Spanish flu project”.