www.cargocollective.com/abbybutcher
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My new site! →
An online portfolio of my most recent work to run alongside my blog as a professional artist website.
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Cocoon IV(2012) Latex, rubber and sand
My original intention when creating a latex cocoon was to have a piece which contrasted the delicacy and fragility of the paper cocoons. I was considering using something like sandpaper so it would be rigid and have a rough texture but still hold similar qualities to the silk paper pieces. When it came to finding a large sheet of sandpaper though I ran into some difficulty. As I’d worked with latex before, I knew that I could create a rubbery, flexible cocoon which would contrast the silk paper forms in many ways, none more so than the fact that the paper cocoons are meant to be very natural whereas the rubber, although it has a skin like aesthetic, is artificial. I decided to incorporate the sand into the latex to add to the texture of the piece and to add another dimension.
The black rubber clinging to the inside of the cocoons, although initially accidental, reflects some of the theory I have been looking at in terms of human failure in both the natural world and artistically. Again it contrasts the organic look of the rest of my work, echoing scenes of spilt oil and thick black tar.
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Cocoon III (2012) Silk paper
I’ve finally completed the two silk paper sculptures. I took them into the photography studio to try figure out how I would like them displaying in the degree show. I decided on putting both sculptures together to form one piece. The paper structures are the most organic forms I will be having in the exhibition but show the least amount of human manipulation or destruction. However, I still wanted them ripped apart as opposed to one whole perfect cocoon form.
Following on from the completion of the physical structures I am hoping to create a subtle sound piece that can be played in the background at the exhibition to compliment the context of the work.
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Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.
Ermine Moth Larvae in Bradford →
A park in Bradford is taken over by Ermine Moth Larvae in May 2011. Wish I’d seen it!
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Sindh, Pakistan
millions of spiders climbed up into the trees to escape the rising flood waters; because of the scale of the flooding and the fact that the water took so long to recede, many trees became cocooned in spiderwebs. People in the area had never seen this phenomenon before.
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Paper sculptures by Laura Clay
Source: arpeggia
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After neglecting my paper cocoons for a good month now, I’ve decided to bite the bullet and start working on them again. Although the initial idea with the paper cocoon was a slight failure I think it could play to my advantage in the long run as I can now sculpt each of the forms into torn apart cocoons as if the creature has just broken out. I have done this by placing a balloon back into each of the semi-spherical structures and building them back up with layers of silk paper. I am doing this roughly so the end pieces aren’t so perfect and artificial looking.
The display and lighting of these sculptures is something I will need to think about as the exhibition draws closer. As you can see from these images the light comes through the paper quite softly so I would like the cocoons spotlit. I have also been considering using metal pipes to create some sort of framework and display area for the cocoons. This will play with the ideas of human failure, natural vs man-made as well as contrast the frailty and subtlety of the paper forms.
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