Burning, Smoking, Smoldering
Ann Silverman (Columbus, OH)
Handmade paper, photograph printed on bond paper, 80” W x 45” H
Artwork:
The artwork captures in photographs the burning of a ball of muslin that was a part of a previous installation. Its sphere looks like a globe on fire. Similarly, our planet is smoldering. The enlarged photographs were floated on paper pulp in a shallow vat. When the work was drained and dried the two parts adhered. The process of floating these images of the burning of my work onto a new work was both disturbing and healing. May we all take the disturbances of our planet and find a way to heal it.
Artist Statement:
I am a papermaker and I live in the woods. I made this work in response to a horrendous wildfire some time ago. There have been so many horrendous wildfires since then I cannot remember which one. The human built environment continues to push against the natural environment. One of many examples is that above ground parking prevents water infiltration, which threatens our aquifers. As humanity's needs and desires increase, so should our care for the environment, which we need above all, increase. I have an invasive shrub that threatens the health of the woods that surround me. I work to pull that out. At the same time I grow a patch of paper mulberry (ironically, also invasive) and I work hard to contain it into that one patch. The movement in my practice from the dirt of harvesting, through the water of making, to the receptive surface of a piece of paper is essential to my process and my pleasure. There is work involved in the care of our natural environment as we move forward.