Lloyd Curtis

My interest in archiving began long before I had the language to describe it. As a child, I spent hours in my parents’ back garden observing and sketching different species of butterflies, eagerly sharing my discoveries and drawings with anyone who would listen. Looking back, I realise that this early curiosity recording what I saw and preserving it through drawing was my first introduction to the instinct of documenting and keeping a record of things that mattered to me. That instinct continued to grow over the years in different ways. I remember carefully cataloguing my vinyl records and cassette tapes in a system that, while perhaps only fully understood by me, reflected a deep appreciation for organisation, memory, and preservation. A significant turning point came later when I took a DNA test, which inspired me to begin cataloguing family photographs, certificates, and recorded histories. This has since become an ongoing and deeply meaningful journey of preserving my family’s story. Alongside this, I now identify strongly as a creative person. I have begun writing short poems and scripts for performances, which I carefully keep and organise not only as a record of my creative journey, but also as a way to reflect on my growth and to serve as a reference for the future. In many ways, archiving has become both a personal practice and a way of honouring memory, creativity, and legacy.