Hand-made paper works

Press, 29 March 1984, Page 22

Hand-made paper works

The Jabberwock. Works made of hand-made paper. At the Robert McDougall Art Gallery. Reviewed by John Hurrell.

Eight artists are represented in this exhibition of works selected from the Jabberwock handpaper mill, at Hobart. Each artist has about four works presented, so the viewer is given the chance to look at their work in some detail. This exhibition raises the old issue of where does craft and art meet, and how does one separate the two, if at all? Some of the items include articles of clothing made of paper, many of the works emphasise the ornamental and much of the work demonstrates technical virtuosity. Intriguingly, some function as a kind of wall sculpture or relief, yet there is great emphasis on painterly values such as

texture and pattern, and subtle manipulation of tones, all in the media of rag paper pulp. Judy Silver’s works are highly successful as very decorative yet inventively made objects, incorporating diverse materials such as patterned fabric, glittery threads of gold and silver, paint and paper pulp. These very exuberant works tend to downplay the use of paper in comparison with other materials. Denise Oates’ works involve human and animal head shapes cast in paper pulp, and using cotton fibre, bird feathers, and amongst other assorted objects, pieces of crab and lobster shells. Her works seem very theatrical and too obvious to have lasting impact.

Guy Waren used to make stained abstract canvases in the mid-sixties. His current

work here shows a preoccupation with the human figure, and with the earthy colours he uses, his works have a trival feel to them. These works seem related to Australian landscape painting and are also akin to the new fashionable and international “New Expressionism” in their subject matter.

Timothy Page, who founded the Jabberwock Mill, has some quiet disturbing works, using bandages, with other images showing a quirky sense of humour. One work has a pattern of cast three-dimensional pink scissors floating against a pale background of bananas and palm-trees. It looks much like embossed wallpaper taken to ludicrous extremes.

kay Lawrence’s grid works are very restrained in their use of colour but

are extremely subtle in her use of materials for making marks. Her very delicate images act as a contrast to some of the more heavyhanded pieces in this exhibition.

An exhibition like this is good fo,r seeing how paper can be used with other materials mixed inside it, or placed with or on top of it. Technically this show is full of surprises but most of the ideas these works embody are not very startling or adventurous. This is an excellent exhibition for the Arts Festival, but it does not provide much to draw on in terms of content. Part of the problem is that it is a group show, but even in that context, it still lacks any individual works that are riveting and which stay in the mind for a long period.