School of Art, Media and Design, UWE Bristol:
Sharp Impressions
1st Feb – 6th March 2006
This exhibition brings together two artists, Beatrice Coron and Heather Hunter, who use paper cutting in their artist’s books.
Heather Hunter loves the versatility of paper allied to collagraphs, text printing and uses various binding methods to result in the book forms that she has produced to date.
Inspiration for her work comes from environmental memories, for example memories of Namibia but also memories of precious things held in the hand. Environmental memories (memory of place) are a universal human experience producing feelings unique to each person. Her books are her response to those feelings.
She started using paper cutting in her work as a printmaker. Using the paper cuts as a base for collagraph printing. The tactile nature of this form of printing led her to produce artists books where the tactile quality becomes part of the experience of reading the books. 'Precious' (2002).
Occasionally a book is made wholly by paper cutting “If all the world were paper…” (2001) or mixed with photography ”Looking for Shakespeare’s flowers”(2004) where the flowers are viewed through 16th Century knot garden design paper cuts.
In “www dot com” (2001) the paper cuts have been scanned into a computer and become the base for other images and text.
The final example is one of a new series of tunnel books in which paper cutting techniques are used. “Progress” (2005).
Heather can be contacted at heather@hunterbooks.co.uk.
Interested in narratives and graphics, Béatrice Coron creates in paper cuttings and artists books.
Born in France, she studied briefly at the school of Beaux-Arts in Lyon, and also studied Mandarin Chinese. She has been a shepherd in the Alps, a truck driver, worked in tourism (over ten years including as a New York City tour guide) among other occupations. These jobs permitted her to explore different realities as well as nurture a passion for art by visiting museums and travelling around the world.
Before moving to New York in 1984, she lived in Egypt and Mexico, each for one year, and then lived two years in China. Immerging herself in these various cultures, she learned the languages and experienced the life styles and crafts.
From the outset, New York sparkled her imagination; that is where she started a full-time career as an artist in 1990. She has applied her graphic skills as an illustrator for magazines and books. In 1996, she started to use paper cutting in a tri-dimensional manner and began creating artists books.
She has also become interested in the process of integrating art into public spaces. In such creations, the participation of the community, practical aspects of budgets, and the safety of materials and maintenance solutions must all become part of the artistic vision. She still views these works as artist books, because they tell stories and invite readers into another universe.
The full range of her art can be seen on www.beatricecoron.com.
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