I found Susan Cutts’ work about a year ago and think they are beautiful and thought provoking. They look so delicate and striking but are also poignant.
Cutts is a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors and a member of the Society of Designer Craftsmen as well as IAPMA and UK based Paperweight. She has been exhibiting nationally and internationally since 1991 in solo, group and touring exhibitions including Sotheby’s New York Gallery (USA) Roche Court Sculpture Park (UK) and the Holland Paper Biennale. Work in various Public Collections as well as private collections.
“I work as a sculptor, handmade paper is my material, and our relationship with clothing, my inspiration.”
'SUR LA POINTE'
2012
Cutts works with her own handmade paper to make her ‘sculptures’. The paper is made from fibres such as abaca, hemp, cotton, which she processes in the traditional way using a hollander beater. The complex structure of the fibres and by using the fine paper sheets while they are wet, enables her to create sculptural pieces without the use of glue, stitching or armatures. She uses the image of ‘dress’ frequently in her work as she says its perception, both historical and contemporary, intrigue her.
“The empty shoe is a familiar image, so I work in multiples to emphasize the dialogue each piece suggests. Our feet shape the shoe – by the way we walk the way we stand – making it as individual as a thumbprint and like a thumbprint it can expose and betray. To make my shoes in paper is an indulgence – these shoes will never be worn they are as fragile as the hopes, dream, secrets and memories they evoke.”
'WHO KNOWS WHERE THE TIME GOES'
2012
Paper is said to have a memory, the creases, wrinkles and folds hold words unspoken or forgotten. In 'Who knows where the time goes' the absence of the dancer gives the paper the power to evoke physical and emotional memories.
'NURSERY RHYME'
2005
'FAIRY TALE'
2006
“Fairy Tales as we know them are safe, respectable and moral. In the original versions they looked unflinchingly at the darker side of people’s lives, particularly that of women, the poor and the disenfranchised.
If life is a ‘fairy tale’ the paper dresses reflect the fragility of the ‘happy ending’.”