I have started making wall pieces out of patchworked
paper. I tear sections of still-wet, newly made, flax paper and arrange them over the front and part of the back of a wire mesh form, leaving an opening in the back to take the mesh form out when the paper has dried. The paper shrinks over the form, contorting it as the paper shrinks
and dries. The final piece maintains most of the square shape of the wire mesh,
but buckles and ripples where it can.
Some of the paper sections are printed in different colors of
metallic paint and ink with various languages and scripts, making the surface a
kind of disjointed conversation, like murmered exchanges late at night – hence
“Pillow Talk.” The example in the image above includes speckled paper with seaweed inclusions.
I really enjoy making these pieces. The challenges are: 1) achieving a satisfying
composition working in two dimensions, initially, with the goal of a
three-dimensional final form; and 2) designing it so it won’t pull itself apart
as it dries. Another challenge is taking good images of the work. The color variations are subtle and metallic paints are hard to photograph.
I look forward to seeing how these pieces evolve, maybe in
series mounted together, or made over different mesh shapes.
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