Statement / Bio
Paula Dunlop realized this cyanotype photogram by placing handwoven soft sculptures (comprised of glass beads) onto photo-sensitive paper. The ephemeral, fluid imagery speaks to the transitory nature of both the processes, and the forms themselves–with the beaded sculptures often pulled apart, and the beads re-used. Dunlop is an artist, designer, and maker She has a persistent interest in materiality and making; our apprehension of, and how we engage with, the material ‘stuff’ of the world. She is drawn in particular to the histories and traditions of creative work undertaken in domestic spaces, and the way we conceptualize and engage with quotidian objects and materiality. These concerns carry through all the work she produces, regardless of the end object or outcome.
Aesthetically, Dunlop is interested in parts, wholes and processes, in particular, the use of repetition as both a visual device as well as a process. She employs time-honored and time-consuming construction techniques, preferring to work by deferring to the limitations presented by the material and by deferring to the processes of the form itself.
2019 RU Alum Paula Dunlop is based in Brisbane, Australia. She is co-founder of the community fashion and art group The Stitchery Collective, and completed a PhD in fashion, design, and ethics at the Queensland University of Technology in 2011. In 2015 she launched her eponymous jewelry line. Represented by the Side Gallery in Brisbane, her work has been shown in galleries throughout Australia, including Artisan (Brisbane), Object Gallery (Sydney) and Craft Victoria (Melbourne), and internationally at the Harbour Art Fair (Hong Kong) and Space 776 (New York City).
Artist website: http://www.pauladunlop.com