(Sketchbook cover, above: Over a five year period, Kjell Bloch Sandved found and photographed the letters A - Z and numbers 0 - 9 on butterfly wings.)

I was honored to be an Artist in Residence at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters, September 20 - December 11, 2023. Working at Amazon provided a contrast between industry-leading technological innovation and the analog, unexpected materials that I use in my work.

What materials work on tarpaper? Everything, it turns out, including watercolor, even though tarpaper is a petroleum product. What magic does cyanotype offer in its transformation of ordinary objects to otherworldly forms? I’ve taken this opportunity to revisit and elaborate on ideas and forms — I’ve chosen two of these many mediums and forms for my residency.

Working here at Amazon has provided a ____ contrast between industry-leading technological innovation and the analog, unexpected materials that I use in my work. In fact, these alternative processes amount to a "book of knowledge", the name of a children’s encyclopedia from the 1950s. I’ve chosen The Book of knowledge as the overarching title of my residency.

In fact, these alternative processes amount to my "book of knowledge" (the name of a children’s encyclopedia from the 1950s.)