Eulogy

Eulogy - Sander Coers - Phases Magazine
Eulogy - Sander Coers - Phases Magazine
Eulogy - Sander Coers - Phases Magazine
Eulogy - Sander Coers - Phases Magazine
Eulogy - Sander Coers - Phases Magazine
Eulogy - Sander Coers - Phases Magazine
Eulogy - Sander Coers - Phases Magazine
Eulogy - Sander Coers - Phases Magazine
Eulogy - Sander Coers - Phases Magazine
Eulogy - Sander Coers - Phases Magazine

Eulogy examines intergenerational and postcolonial trauma through the lens of my family’s history, uncovering how collective memory shapes identity and emotional expression. The project originated from a photograph published in the Bali Post of my grandfather being carried from his home in a body bag after his death in 2020. This image sparked my exploration of the silences, losses, and unspoken memories shaping generations. Using family archives, personal photography, and diverse media—textiles, wood, ceramics, and AI—I reinterpret these themes to reveal the constructed and selective nature of memory.

Central to the project is the idea of memory as shaped by nostalgia, loss, and historical forces. I use AI as a form of collective memory, generating images from family albums to exaggerate markers of masculinity, trauma, and memory. These elements are integrated with archival material and my photography to create works that anonymize individuals through collages and crops, emphasizing memory’s fragmented and subjective nature. Works on plywood, such as I Mistook The Laughter For Love and I Felt Very, Very Cold, feature UV-printed AI imagery arranged in diptychs or triptychs, exploring memory’s layered construction.

A recurring color palette derived from the original photograph unifies the works, appearing in UV-printed archival photos on plywood and oil-painted beams that obscure parts of the image. This abstraction invites reflection on how memory reconstructs and idealizes the past while hiding its darker truths.

Ceramic tiles in the Obituary series use UV-printed archival images cropped to emphasize specific details, with hand-glazed colors inspired by the photograph. Tapestries woven from the same image manipulate and obscure details, reflecting the selective nature of memory. As a historically rich medium, tapestry underscores how personal and collective histories are intricately interwoven.

Eulogy bridges personal and collective histories, exploring how trauma, postcolonial legacies, and generational silences shape identity. Through family archives, personal photography, AI, and tactile media, the project reimagines how memory and history are constructed, preserved, and reinterpreted across generations.