Hot Off the Cutting Board!

Here are some pictures of my latest silk paper cut entitled, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. VRROOOM! Click on the pictures to get a better look.

It took longer than usual 'cos there are so many other work and family related things going on at the moment. In fact I'm disappointed to that I've only managed three blog entries this month. I'll try harder in May. Sometimes life manages to get in the way big time leaving all else a little bit meaningless.

I'm sure the Dancing Boys wouldn't let such things get them down. They'd simply get on their 50cc bikes and ride like the wind through the jostling streets of Taipei with a ciggy dangling from their mouths.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. VRROOOM! is 190cm long by 30cm wide. It's not finished yet and I've got no idea how I'm going to mount it yet, but I like the idea of it as a long scroll to be rolled up and put away.

Boom! Boom! Vroom!

Taipei is the home to the world’s tallest skyscraper, the 101. From my studio window I gaze out at it. It’s so tall the top seems to be in a different climate zone with swirls of cloud often hanging around it.

When they were building the 101 they realized that it was so tall it was going to interfere with the flight paths of planes from the Taipei city airport. Now planes take a wide arc around it but I always wonder what if one pilot forgets the new flight path.

When you visit the 101 it really is an incredibly well built and run building. Ordered, clean, calm, efficient and smooth. A world far removed from the surrounding streets where hordes of motorcyclists jostle and weave for the advantage of beating the next traffic lights. Some bikes spew acrid smoke while others twist and turn, mounting sidewalks for shortcuts with seeming impunity. Their riders casually smoke’n’ride, shirts flap in the wind, flip flops hang precariously close to the tarmac. It seems that, on average, once a month I come across a motorcyclist sprawled on the ground, the result of a bump or clipping a car or a shunt.

Everyday I see the survivors hobbling around with scuffed legs and arms the result of a ‘tarmac tussle’. I often ask myself if they’ll ever ride again. The answer is probably yes. I modeled my characters, the Dancing Boys, on these people – carefree and careless.

Here’s a detail of a rough sketch for my next project featuring the Dancing Boys, ‘Boom. Boom! Vroom!’ (click on it to get a clearer view). One has crashed his scooter into the 101 which is feeling the full effect of the bump. Below ground cockroaches scuttle around out of sight. Meanwhile high in the sky another carefree and careless Dancing Boy is bare back riding a plane as it hurtles through the sky. He’s being chased by others who gleefully prance along in the plane’s jet stream. Then there are the rap dancing Dancing Boys who gaze in wonder at the catastrophe unfolding before their eyes. But it doesn’t stop them. They see this kind of chaos happening every day in their world.

Once the sketch is done I’ll trace it onto silk and start cutting out the image. I just gotta make sure to cut it so that the writing comes out positive!

Here’s one I did earlier..!

There are times when one gets completely stuck and frustrated when trying to finish an artwork. This silk paper cutting (Noodle Mania) focused on the joys of beef noodle soup, which on a cold winter’s day in Taipei is the perfect way to warm up. The bowls of noodles are at the centre warmed by flames from below. The steamy aromas rise and envelop the dancing boys who eagerly breathe them all in. The result of this is the Dancing Boys’ hair extending and twisting in some kind of rapturous ecstasy.

This silk paper cutting has been going on for almost a year, but somewhere along the way I completely lost interest in it. But when you spend so much time designing, drawing up and cutting out a piece it gets hard to come to terms with the guilt of time wasted.

At one point I crumpled it all up and found myself peering into a forest-like mass of silk. Hmmm, there’s potential there somewhere.

Anyway I did, at least, get some nice photos at various stages of the cutting. There’s the design drawn on the back of the silk paper. Four colours of silk paper were cut at the same time, then the image was cut up into its individual elements and attempts were made to reconstruct the piece.

Alas, by then my muse had gone and that’s the way it is right now. I haven’t given up all hope yet and the bits lie strewn around my small studio hoping that sometime soon it all might click.

Daniel is Swept Away

I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese prints or Ukiyo-e, especially the highly stylized imagery used to portray water.

Trust Daniel to accidentally fall into a Ukiyo-e torrent and get swept away, only to finally succumb to the turbulent currents… or does he?

Before

After

I originally designed the three silk cuttings to explore the patterns and complexity of portraying the water and Daniel simply fell in. Then I felt sorry for him and devised his escape, but that never got beyond the sketch stage.

These three silk paper cuttings have yet to be finished and are still held together by ‘spars’ of silk which I’ll cut off before mounting the work. I laid the work on white silk to take the photos so there are shadows.

The Gentleman Badger

The badger has always been a motif in my work. From my teens, when I used to go badger watching with my dad deep in the English countryside, I’ve been fascinated by these secretive, powerful nocturnal animals. Their gentle, friendly faces hide a powerful set of jaws lined with some awesome teeth. Their stumpy bodies and short legs cleverly disguise the fact that these are powerful digging and fighting machines. On the whole though they are passive, but don’t expect a cuddle!

In my work the badger dropped its earthly trappings and gradually took on the role of this artist’s psyche. Hidden and secretive, but always observing, they keep well away from unpredictable humans. At first, in the late 1980's, the badgers had their own cartoon strips, but now they inhabit the world of my silk paper cuttings. They seem to be quite at home in the confused twisting innards of iridescent silk. Click on the Dancing Boys below and take yourself badger watching to see how many you can spot. There are 10 to find.

And if you are really keen go to my website to find more.

Liu Ren's Paper cuts

Beijing city government has promoted traditional folk arts by encouraging artists to set up shop in an area of old hutongs in Beijing city. These are traditional court yard houses which are rapidly developing in the name of modernization. One of these hutong is occupied by Chinese paper-cutting artist Liu Ren. Liu Ren set up a paper-cutting home museum in 1999 for the purpose of carrying forward the traditional handicraft and sharing with others the joy brought by paper-cutting. It seems she regularly holds workshops at her home.

Her work has a graphic quality that really appeals to me. Its organic nature and imagery is not rigid and formalized though it obviously relies on a rich corpus of traditional symbols.

See more of her home by following this link

Living in Taipei

The grey murk of a long spell of torrid winter weather has finally lifted and the sun has magically reappeared to reveal Taipei in all its ‘splendid glory’. There’s a hint of sarcasm there, but just a hint. This silk paper cut done just over a year ago is called Bugs, Bowls ‘n’ Bikes. It incorporates four elements of living in Taipei, which is where my family currently lives. Starting from the centre are the bugs which during the summer are found happily scuttling around the streets, but most annoyingly in my kitchen!
Then there’s the food. Watching freshly cooked noodle soup on a cold day is a wondrous steamy sight.
Finally there’s the over abundance of motorbikes which are everywhere and I mean everywhere. You’ll find them zipping along the sidewalks and even in the middle of quiet parks someone will try to make a short cut across the grass.

Surrounding all this is a ring of grey misty cloud which represents Taipei’s hot humid weather.

It's all a mish mash of exotic sights and smells which even after living here so long don't fail to stir the senses. Hope you enjoy!