Thin-skinned, 2022

Thin-skinned (2022) is an ongoing series consisting of 20 mostly wall mounted and hanging fiber sculptures. Working with one of the most everyday of materials, paper, the artist constructs using a range of techniques with versatility. Paper when wet is heavy and fragile but when dry is Thin-skinned, light, strong and somewhat seductive. The title is derived from a term describing individuals that are “snappish, ornery, impatient, narky, ill-humored, volatile and uptight”. Aside from the title which may reference the state of mental health faced by society as we come out of the Covid Pandemic it also comments on the physicality and fragility of hand made paper and pulp objects. The complexity and rigorous practice of working with fiber and cellulose connects to the artist’s background in art and paper conservation, his childhood experiences of drawing, collaging and making paper objects as well as time spent watching his father at work in his shoe making business.