BY: SU BLACKWELL
For how long have you been working with your paper technique? How did it first start?
I started this technique after graduating from RCA in 2003. It started after a trip to Thailand, where I bought a beautiful second-hand book on the Kao San Road. My father had passed away while I w
as studying at the RCA, and I was thinking about life, death, and the in-between. My first book-sculpture was ‘The Quiet American’. I cut moths from the book with a craft-knife. The piece was inspired by a Chinese legend, about two lovers whose souls re-emerge from burnt ashes in the shape of two Moths. I began working with paper, because of its connection to spiritual rituals that I encountered in South East Asia, and this in turn led me to work with books, and fairy tales.
Although yours is such a personal work, whose has inspired or influenced you?
Artist’s who have influenced me are Ann Hamilton, Annette Messenger, Joseph Cornell and Jonathan Callan. Jonathan Callan’s Show ‘Interferance’ at The New Art Gallery in Walsall had a profound influence on me.
Your work is quite delicate and full of detail, about how long does it take you to prepare one piece?
I always read the book first, at least once or twice, and then I begin to create the work, cutting out, adding details. The detail is what brings it all together, the magic element. It is a tediously slow process.
What are your hobbies and interests? Are they somehow visible through your work?
I love reading, walking. I enjoy being in nature and bird-watching. I like visiting Museums, Art-galleries, Theater, Ballet and Films.
To know more about Su Blackwell and her works visit; sublackwell.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment