susan_whitla@yahoo.co.uk

Biography

Susan Whitla joined Creative Exchange in 2000, while a student at the University of Ulster, from which she graduated with an MA in Applied Art in 2001.  Her work explores the organic nature of paper and its innate properties as a sculptural medium, combining traditional hand papermaking techniques with the use of plant fibres derived from the local environment.

She has taken part in national and international exhibitions, receiving an Arts Council Award in 2002. She worked as Artist-in-Residence at the Corrymeela Centre for Peace & Reconciliation, and has been a part-time art teacher for the past four years, also running a variety of workshops in venues across Northern Ireland.  Recently she has been involved in a number of mural projects in hospitals and as part of the C.S. Lewis Festival.

Artist Statement

The process of hand papermaking allows organic plant matter, such as reeds, grasses and rushes, to be transformed into a workable medium.  I use local plants in conjunction with traditional papermaking fibres, such as kozo, gampi and abaca, to produce pulps and papers that I use as sculptural materials, through casting and moulding processes.

Through using purely organic materials, I aim to create sculptural pieces which appear of ambiguous origin and which express a personal perception of beauty.

My work is often inspired by the study of natural forms, their structures and surfaces.  I am interested in the interplay between immutable form and corruptible matter, and the possibilities of paper as a medium through which the transient may be preserved. 

In the face of the demolition of the mill, I wanted preserve small details of the building that have caught my eye time and again in the years that I have worked there.

Title: Spiralling Steps   

Medium: Photec Etching

Title: Paper cast of stair at Linenhall Works

Medium: Handmade flax paper