Erin Ciulla, Canada
Phase I
Suitcase containing miniature books with mixed media, found materials, and handmade paper.
Valise contenant des livres miniatures avec des médias mixtes, des matières trouvées et du papier fait-main.
11.4 x 22.9 x 30.5 cm
2005
Artists' Books / Livre d'artiste
Artist's Statement:
“Process is a system that can be decoded and adapted to any personal use.” – John Coplans My work reflects environment and it illustrates a cycle more focussed on the journey than the destination. Through visual imagery a commentary is made on time and place. Process ignites creativity. Working with multiples and series I experiment through the use of materiality while maintaining distinctiveness and individuality in each piece. Yarn, handmade paper, books, and found objects form the composition that relates past with present, old with new. The tactility of the pieces reflects the components, which yearn to be touched. Hand-held scale allows a personal intimate relationship with the work. The viewer is drawn in; a one on one connection is made. Everyday elements, containing preconceived notions, set a stage where the viewer can easily approach the work due to these already established relationships. Discarded fragments of found items are reinterpreted and become the foundation of my pieces. Prosaic materials are given deeper meaning. I use the crochet process to recount the past: a cycle, a repetitive action. The knotting of yarn corresponds to the making of paper. Through a sequence of steps the knots turn into a cover and the pulp turns into paper. The book form illustrates a narrative without the necessity of written words. Structures offer insight into the possible stories contained within their pages. Books are means of communicating language, palpable ways of expressing verbal ideas. Like puzzles, when all the pieces are placed together, they form ideas, thoughts and words, that when separated seem detached. Fusion takes place when individuality becomes grouping.