Artist Georgia Russell creates paper art by slicing, ripping, and cutting apart printed text and transforming it into visually exciting sculptures. Her process began when she used to sift through old books in Paris and sensing that the objects felt lost or dead. So she now takes a scalpel to everything from newspaper and photographs to sheet music in order to create interpretive, energetic pieces that redefine the books. According to her bio, “The atmosphere of the original material she uses is extremely important to her, and her use of either new, or of older papers or images redolent of past lives, is dependent on the mood or idea that she wants to communicate.
With repetitive layers, she forms interesting, organic shapes that are reminiscent of feathers or microscopic organisms. She then places each piece within a bell jar, leading viewers to the conclusion that the words are somehow being protected or preserved behind the glass. Ultimately, Russell's exploration of the printed materials represents the past and the passing of time. She says, “What is left is time past, non-returnable, the essence of what was.”
