Tuesday 13 September 2016

'Paperwork': insider-outsider art exhibition at the Supreme Court

Paperwork, a temporary exhibition at the Supreme Court, consists of about 30 pieces - shredded, scissored, glued, painted, twisted, mashed, recycled. Torn up sentences.

Hanging Paper Ball is a metaphor for a barrister's wig...







...and for an albino African pygmy hedgehog I drew recently:



  The paper necklace is marketable.






This detail from My Lady's Waiting shows a Renaissance technique called quilling, which uses coiled strips:

 
A similar three-dimensional use of paper strips...





...has a Van Gogh texture:


Wheatfield with Crows, 1890, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam


The juxtaposition of these two makes me think of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,  Philip K. Dick's sci-fi novel which inspired the film Blade Runner:



I also like the hidden 'ream' in the recycled book.
 
The exhibits in Paperwork, which runs until 30 September 2016, were created by people in prison, serving community sentences or in secure psychiatric care. Some works are for sale, with proceeds shared by the Koestler Trust (which curated the exhibition) and Victim Support. For opening times and information about supporters and the UK Supreme Court Arts Trust, please see here