ASHLEY ELIZABETH LAMM
CONTEMPORARY FINE ART PAPER COLLAGES
Within the artist's work accumulations of paper cuttings deconstruct social hierarchies by creating female goddesses and warriors that unsettle and alter the definition of the historical male hero.
Collage as a form of transplantation from one papery surface to the next is her way of forming a demand for a more diverse and intense representation of female voices and stories.
SUSTAINABLE
The material is extracted solely from elements of discarded magazines and second hand books, repurposing paper and redefining its use by creating new contexts in which it can unfold.
CUSTOM MADE
Since the iconic turn people structure their thoughts by mentally saving images, thus creating a collective pictorial memory. These elementary imageries can be embodied within custom made collages, that reincarnate personal stories.
INTRICATE
Dive into the artist's world and explore enumerable elements selected from images of the natural world, excerpts of machinery and human made objects.
PHIDDIPUS AUDAX
'Phiddipus Audax' is inspired by the Greek mythology of Arachne - a skillful artist who challenged the goddess Athene to a weaving contest. In anger over being out won by Arachne, the spiteful goddess transfigured her into a spider.
(click on collage to dive into the world of AMALGAMARE)
AN ODE TO PAPER
by Ashley Elizabeth Lamm
"THE GIRL, THE WOMAN, THE ARTIST GRASPS THE WEAPON GINGERLY BETWEEN HER FINGERS. A SHEET OF PAPER, A PAIR OF SCISSORS AND A STICK OF GLUE. THE UNKNOWN ONLOOKER MIGHT PERCEIVE, THAT NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE HER STICKER ALBUM DAYS AS A CHILD.
EXCEPT IT HAS (...)
GOURA VICTORIA
'Goura Victoria' is an ode to the crowned pigeon, whose crest feather itself can be seen as an intricate collage. By giving the bird a set of armor, it transforms from a fragile animal to a powerful warrior.
(click on collage to dive into the world of AMALGAMARE)
"CRINKLE, CRACKLE, SNIP". THE GIRL, THE WOMAN, THE ARTIST HAS EVOLVED. THE PAPER, SCISSORS AND GLUE NOW NO LONGER TRY TO DEPICT THE WORLD SHE LIVES IN. THE PAPER CUTTING GAINS AN IMPORTANCE WITHIN THE LIFE OF THE GIRL, THE WOMAN, THE ARTIST. THE PAPER CUTTING ACTS AS A BUILDING BLOCK, A THOUGHT OR A COPING MECHANISM IN ORDER TO DESTABILIZE THE GIRL'S, THE WOMAN'S, THE ARTIST'S WORLD.
SHE HERSELF IS A PRODUCT OF THE PAPER CUTTINGS. (...)
IF HIPPOS WERE HOLY
'If Hippos Were Holy' challenges the Western perceptions of Mother worship and plays with the utopian idea of a gigantic hippopotamus goddess floating below the surface of dark and untouched waters.
(click on collage to see the intricate details within the fine art collage)
"SNIP, SNIPPETY, SNIP, SNAP". THE PAIR OF SCISSORS ARE HELD WITH GREAT CARE AND YET THE CUTS THEY PIERCE WITHIN THE PAPER CUTTINGS ARE IRREVOCABLE AND DECONSTRUCT THE SETTING OF THE PAPER CUTTING. THE INTENTIONAL SLASH WITHIN THE PAPERY BODIES, UNDERWATER LANDSCAPES AND 90'S KITSCH DESTROYS IN ORDER TO REBUILD AGAIN.
THE ONGOING TRANSPLANTATION OF ORGANS FROM ONE PAPERY SURFACE TO THE NEXT. (...)
THE THREE GRACES I
'The Three Graces l' is part of a triptych and is the centre panel of the installation. The modernist writer Virginia Woolf stands proud and acts as a benefactress for the other two graces. Woolf's endeavor to strengthen female voices has always been a literary inspiration to Ashley Elizabeth Lamm's work.
"SNAP". THE PAIR OF SCISSORS LEAVE BRUISES ON THE RIGHT THUMB OF THE GIRL, THE WOMAN, THE ARTIST. DESPERATELY ACHING FOR THE ELONGATED BLADES TO MERGE WITH HER HAND, THE BODY TRIES TO ADJUST BY ALTERNATING HER SKIN COLOUR FROM FRECKLED WHITE TO THE PURPLE TINGED, TRANSLUCENT SHADE OF YELLOW. EXTERNALLY SHE HASN'T QUITE BECOME A CYBORG YET, BUT THE PAIR OF SCISSORS ALREADY TRY TO MERGE WITH HER BODY.
WITH EVERY CUT, RIP OR TEAR OF PAPER. (...)
THE THREE GRACES II
'The Three Graces ll' is part of a triptych and is the side panel of the installation. Within 'The Three Graces ll' two female beings share a body and take on the burdens of their reproductive organ together. The toucan - a powerful bird with a strong beak - and the black domestic cat - a sign of misfortune - create a symbiotic organism, functioning as one.
(click on collage to see the intricate details within the fine art collage)
"SNIP, SNIPPETY, SNAP". THE HANDS OF THE GIRL, THE WOMAN, THE ARTIST DANCE ACROSS THE TRANSPLANTED PAPER OBJECTS, WALTZING ACROSS THEIR FRAGILE FORMS, ENCIRCLING THEM AND THEN GLIDING TO THE NEXT SNIPPET OF PAPER. THIS INTIMATE DANCE LETS THE PAPER CUTTING MOVE ACROSS THE SURFACE AND MAKE CONNECTIONS WITH ONE ANOTHER, CREATING SCENARIOS OF UNCONNECTABLE WONDERS. (...)
THE THREE GRACES III
'The Three Graces lII' is part of a triptych and is the side panel of the installation. It incorporates catholic imagery with contemporary pictures, that alter the perception of the dutiful Virgin Mary and questions stereotypical representations of her.
(click on collage to see the intricate details within the fine art collage)
"CRACKLE". THE FINAL ACT BELONGS TO THE LONE PROTAGONIST OF THE GLUE STICK. NEW HIERARCHIES ARE SET INTO PLACE THAT ARE MORE ACCEPTABLE TO THE GIRL, THE WOMAN, THE ARTIST. THE KNOWN WORLD IS EXPANDED AND THE GLUE MOLDS A NEW POSSIBILITY, A FEARLESS CREATURE, A GODDESS. UTOPIA. (...)
THE FOSSILIZED SEAMSTRESS
In the 19th century the embroidering woman is one of the most popular motives for male painters. These paintings show passive women, concentrating and quietly coexisting along side their husbands, brothers and fathers. 'The Fossilized Seamstress' shows a contemporary representation of needle work in art, that gives women a voice instead of muting them.
(click on collage to see the intricate details within the fine art collage)
"SNIP, SNIP, SNIP". THE GIRL, THE WOMAN, THE ARTIST STILL GRASPS HER WEAPONS GINGERLY BETWEEN HER FINGERS. HOWEVER NOW HER PULSING PALMS REST UPON HER OBSCURE CREATURE, HER FEMALE MOSTER, HER GLARING GODDESS. TO HER THE OSCURE, FEMALE BEING IS HER BENEFACTRESS. HER SHIELD. HER ALTERNATIVE. HER SUGGESTION. HER DEMAND.
THE BIRTH
Although the birthing process is a very central focus of womanhood and a universal experience to every individual, the motif of a woman giving birth is underrepresented in the arts, deeming it an unspeakable act, that must be concealed. The reason for this lies in the risen patriarchal ideology of femininity, that strives to portray women as powerless and weak.
‘The Birth’ pays tribute to childbirth and honours the power of women.
(click on collage to see the intricate details within the fine art collage)
