pp (Pianissimo)

Digitally printed paper, glue. Handmade. 136x106x60cm. 2008.

Recurring themes in this practice are replication, imitation and reproduction of objects, and consequently, deception and the ‘art of fakery’ play a role. There is always a passionate emphasis on the value of traditional notions of craft and labour, juxtaposed with new technologies. More than just simple reproduction, the work implies an investigation into the reason of certain objects by setting up conflicts between its Form versus its Function and its Value versus its Disposability. How much does one value the labour involved in creating any one object and does disposing of an objects use devalue it monetarily? Each piece in this current vein of object fetishism, follows a methodology, from deconstruction of the original, to reconstruction (engineering/drawing) and finally to making (which itself entails more processes). There is a strict logic and multiple rules to the process that is followed to make the objects. The process too, re-contextualises the paper: from useFUL to useLESS. The work is pure: only paper and glue are used, no innards and no support. This offers just a skin of information and an aesthetic of possible failure. The displacement between the object reproduced and the reproduction is marked by decisions dictated by the medium and the process. They are not copies, but more translations; a two-dimensional print pushed into three. The uncanny contradiction between functionality and it having been 'faked' creates a peculiar short-circuit for the audience who desire to interact with the object, which if 'real' would not provoke the same need to play. Perhaps, this is because the objects which are replicated, are designed for specific functions. They are reasonable and useful. When the function is stripped away, potentially, the ‘art’ of the object is refined.

"Three dimensional work can be produced by the printmakers here too, most notably by Celia Warnants whose absurd life size paper furniture was delightful. The piano “PP (Pianissimo)” was the piece de resistance created from just digitally printed paper and glue. The irony is that the cheapest furniture we can buy is similarly produced from ‘printed wood’."

Quoted from "RCA - Fine Art MA show" on commentart.com, 09.Jun.08 by Imogen Welch