Paperwork in 3D Exhibit - Emma Hardy
Last week I promised I'd be back with photos of my most favorite portion of the Paperwork in 3D exhibit at Vermont's Shelburne Museum.
Packages (2010) by mixed media artist, Emma Hardy, is an installation in Kalkin House that I mentioned was originally a metal shipping container. An unusual space, it adds to the appeal of her work.
Emma studied Sculpture at the Wimbledon School of Art in London, and now resides in Colorado where she created the incredible sculptures with - believe it or not - brown paper and packing tape.
Emma says the inspiration came after her mother suddenly passed away from heart failure, and Packages was created in her memory.
The five uncannily realistic figures are modeled after people in Emma's tiny town. They're positioned near a paper bark-covered tree that serves as both the actual and representative heart of the installation. Viewers are encouraged to touch the sculptures and explore the space.
Mirrors, both true-to-life and distortion, are embedded in the bark and a hollowed area of the trunk. Interestingly, the actual heartbeat of each person was recorded and installed inside their sculpture. Faint beats can be heard when in close proximity, and all five heartbeats are combined within the tree to suggest a collective consciousness.
Because Emma herself says it best... "The five figures orbiting the tree represent our individuality and sometimes isolation within our community."
"The idea stems from the fact that we all exist within our own "package" and can only know someone through their appearance and what they choose to present to the world. My intention is that an observer can relate to and find some commonality; perhaps they will find a reflection of themselves, a friend, a daughter, or parent."
Packages (2010) by mixed media artist, Emma Hardy, is an installation in Kalkin House that I mentioned was originally a metal shipping container. An unusual space, it adds to the appeal of her work.
Emma studied Sculpture at the Wimbledon School of Art in London, and now resides in Colorado where she created the incredible sculptures with - believe it or not - brown paper and packing tape.
Emma says the inspiration came after her mother suddenly passed away from heart failure, and Packages was created in her memory.
The five uncannily realistic figures are modeled after people in Emma's tiny town. They're positioned near a paper bark-covered tree that serves as both the actual and representative heart of the installation. Viewers are encouraged to touch the sculptures and explore the space.
Mirrors, both true-to-life and distortion, are embedded in the bark and a hollowed area of the trunk. Interestingly, the actual heartbeat of each person was recorded and installed inside their sculpture. Faint beats can be heard when in close proximity, and all five heartbeats are combined within the tree to suggest a collective consciousness.
Because Emma herself says it best... "The five figures orbiting the tree represent our individuality and sometimes isolation within our community."
"The idea stems from the fact that we all exist within our own "package" and can only know someone through their appearance and what they choose to present to the world. My intention is that an observer can relate to and find some commonality; perhaps they will find a reflection of themselves, a friend, a daughter, or parent."
Here's a marvelous video that shows Emma at work.
At the opposite end of the exhibit space is another equally impressive installation by Emma. This one is titled Borneo Shipment (2011), and features flora and fauna of Borneo, the oldest rainforest in the world. Here's a sampling of the paper maché animals, which are as astonishing as the Packages figures.
At the opposite end of the exhibit space is another equally impressive installation by Emma. This one is titled Borneo Shipment (2011), and features flora and fauna of Borneo, the oldest rainforest in the world. Here's a sampling of the paper maché animals, which are as astonishing as the Packages figures.
Those feathers! That fur!
Paperwork in 3D closes on October 30, 2011.
Paperwork in 3D closes on October 30, 2011.
