By Cat Juan
Photos - Luke Austin

As far as Sonya Gee’s tiny artworks are concerned, the rules of creation are simple. Step one: draw inspiration from the creative corner in the crevice of your mind. Step two: fit the resulting product inside a matchbox. Step three: leave your creation in a public place with a note tracing this tiny package of goodwill back to you. Step four: don’t stalk or skulk around hoping to see the new owner of your gift. Instead, toss it to the wind and pray that the receiver decides to let you know how this mini box made with love touched them.

Welcome to the zany mind of Sonya Gee, a 23-year-old University of Sydney graduate who has been creating these four-step acts of random artistic kindness she calls the "matchbox project" for more than a year. Read: a tiny work of art encased in an often-altered Redheads matchbox, then left to the whim of fate at bus stops, in parks and at other random locations around town.

It was kluster's fascination with Sonya's work that first inspired me to contact her. Of course, she eloquently explained the reasoning behind the project.

"I love the idea of chance," Sonya confides via email; my first meeting with this bubby artist turned out to be insufficient to satisfy my curiosity. "…Of surprising people in a very useless way." And what of her concern for the welfare of these mini delights? Sonya admits her greatest concern is simply the fact that one of them might actually be overlooked.

Since starting the project in 2007, Sonya has released more than 50 matchboxes into the world. With so many matchboxes made, the art involved tends to be as versatile as its maker’s moods. Then there are the lessons learned along the way. Sonya’s favourite creation thus far was a mini sewing kit because, post production, she discovered just how much she could fit in one box: a thimble, buttons, a tape measure and coloured cotton.

Collaborative creation is also not unusual. Matt Huynh, graphic artist, illustrator and member of the Popperbox collective, designed a beautiful stamp called Tiny Dancer, which was snugly fitted into a box and bestowed on an unknown recipient. Sydney artist Tony Curran, known for his work with perception, gave Sonya a box covered in big, bright faux crystals.

"Inside were matchsticks with all sizes of googly eyes stuck to them," Sonya explains. "When I opened the box the matchsticks were looking at me, almost in this accusation or provocative way. It was utterly confusing but hilarious at the same time."

Her site displays images of each matchbox, often coupled with a description of where these little treasures are left. Sometimes willing friends decide to take a box on their travels so that her miniscule squares of art are playfully placed in other parts of the world. Regular followers of her website are also witness to those rare and beautiful moments when people write back, sharing that they were the ones who found her matchboxes.

A few weeks ago, Sonya and I met at Six Seven Ate Café in Chippendale. Upon entering this little hole-in-the-wall white space, I found Sonya waiting in a corner, amusing herself with a celebrity magazine. She had taken the final exam in her undergraduate degree that morning, leaving her with an aura as sparkly as a newly lit, well, match. As we sat down to chat over a gingerbread man, Sonya explained how the project came to be. "I was living in Korea for two months on a journalism scholarship and they have really crazy, small stationary over there and there was this amazingly squashed but very pretty matchbox outside our apartment. So I was just being stupid and said, 'what if I make a present out of this' and my flatmate said, 'go for it' and I did."

Post creation, Sonya blogged about the experience. A random reader from the U.S. suggested she make more. The rest, as they say, is matchbox-project history. To date Sonya estimates that ten of the 50 or so matchboxes she and her friends have sent into the world have been reported found. Luckily, discovering who owns her boxes has never been a priority.

With her site recently featured in the Sydney Morning Herald and various international blogs, the popularity of her little project has reached a height she swears is accidental, albeit exciting.

With uni out of the way, Sonya has big plans for the next part of the year. Recently awarded an art grant from local council, she’ll keep busy interviewing people, photographing places, and bringing light to the beautiful, quirky side of her neighbourhood.

Then there is her collaborative project with Sydney-based graphic illustrator Michelle Vandermeer on a series of centrally themed zines delving into the urban environment and its overlooked gems.

Still as excited as ever about her original baby, Sonya says she’ll continue with the project as long as people are enjoying it, commenting on it. Until then she has but one small request:

"If you find one, please don’t step on it, it’d really hurt my feelings."