Paper World

Paper World was the second series of artefacts produced in relation to the doctoral dissertation: Paperness: Expressive Material in Textile Art from an Artist’s Viewpoint. Its production focused on ways in which a material could make the maker’s expression explicit in the overall exhibition and understandable by the viewers. To create this series, I directed my thought from the contextual components – exhibition space and environment – to the detail. The concept of Paper World showed that a material lives in this world as ordinary entities surround us in our everyday lives at home. The series consisted of artefacts representing ordinary household objects, none of which were seen in isolation from their context or other artefacts situated in the context.

All the artefacts in the Paper World series were clearly not intended for serial production; nor were they meant to fulfil any practical functions. Instead, they were created to provide enjoyment and to stimulate contemplation and reflection. Although their forms looked realistic, their media and structure signalled that they were intentionally to be used in imagination or conceptualization.

Having a realistic appearance with abstract details might establish a personal connection between the artefacts and viewers. My attempt was to blur the boundaries between the real and the imaginative, so that the imaginative seemed real. The imaginative artefacts that looked realistic offered pleasure but were limited in physical functions.

The series has been exhibited internationally in the following exhibitions:

(1) “(Wo)man and Environment”, Craft Ontario, Toronto, Canada, August 2020 (solo exhibition, see)
(2) “Water: With or Without?”, 9th International Mini-Textiles Triennial, Musée d’Agesci, Niort, France, March–May 2011, Galerie Montcalm, Gatineau (Québec), Canada, August-October 2010, Musée du costume et du textile du Québec, Canada, April–July 2010, Musée Jean Lurçat et de la tapisserie contemporaine, Angers, France, June-November 2009
(3) “Käsityön kieli” (Language of Craft), Museum of Cultures, Helsinki, Finland, November 2010
(4) “Textile Art Now!”, 8th Finnish Textile Triennial, Raisio Museum Harkko, Raisio, Finland, March–May 2010, Design Museum, Helsinki, Finland, June–September 2009
(5) “OTTO”, Taiteilijat O presentation, Circulo de Bellas Artesin salia, Madrid, Spain, October–November 2009, Vantaa Art Museum, Vantaa, Finland, September 2008–January 2009
(6) “Lightness of Being”, Craft Museum of Finland Gallery, Jyväskylä, Finland, March–May 2009 (solo exhibition)
(7) “White – Valkoinen”, Taitokortteli, Joensuu, Finland, June-August 2008
(8) “Valoa ja varjoja” (Light and Shadows), Oulu City Library, Oulu, Finland, December 2007–January 2008
(9) "SOFA Chicago", International Exposition of Sculpture Objects & Functional Art, Chicago, Illinois, USA (with Gallery Norsu, Helsinki, Finland), November 2007
(10) “The Art of Research”, Media Centre Lume, Helsinki, Finland, October 2007
(11) “Paper World”, Gallery Gjutars, Vantaa, Finland, January–February 2007 (see animated invitation), Ricordi & Sfera, Kyoto, Japan, June 2006 (solo exhibitions)



LIST OF ARTEFACTS

THE GLASS & THE STRAW, 2007
media: paper string, knotting
dimensions: 11cm x 5.5cm x 12cm

THE CRADLE, 2007
media: paper string, knotting
dimensions: 60cm x 40cm x 90cm

THE COAL RAKE, 2007
media: paper string, knotting
dimensions: 40cm x 40cm x 85cm

THE COAT RACK & THE HANGERS, 2007
media: paper string, knotting
dimensions: 60cm x 40cm x 25cm

THE MAN, 2007
media: paper string, knotting
dimensions: 65cm x 40cm x 72cm

THE WOMAN, 2007
media: paper string, knotting
dimensions: 45cm x 36cm x 100cm

THE LAMP, 2006
media: paper string, knotting
dimensions: 50cm x 50cm x 60cm

THE CHAIR, 2006
media: paper string, acrylic tubes, knotting
dimensions: 35cm x 35cm x 80cm

THE TABLE, 2006
media: paper string, acrylic tubes, knotting
dimensions: 40cm x 40cm x 65cm

THE COFFEE CUP, 2006
media: paper string, knotting
dimensions: 15cm x 15cm x 7cm

THE GROWING CURTAIN, 2006
media: paper string, knotting
dimensions: 115cm x 20cm x 225cm

THE GROWING OR DYING, 2006
media: paper string, knotting
dimensions: 115cm x 20cm x 225cm

THE THE BOOKSHELF & THE BOOKS, 2006
media: paper string, knotting
dimensions: 60cm x 20cm x 16cm