Artwork which uses the figure can have a wide range of sensibilities and perspectives. The figure, combined with handmade paper, a dynamic and evocative medium, lends itself to the discussion of social and political issues. With a range and depth not shared by other materials, handmade paper conveys an inherent sense of fragility and preciousness that speaks of the human condition. The exhibition became a statement about the sanctity of human life, the widespread existence of injustice, and a promise of hope and rejuvenation. The works of Dextras, Ennist, and Field all share an overt concern for political and social issues. Nicole Dextras's Effigies series chronicles atrocities witnessed in many developing countries. Xerox transfer portraits of women, testimonies of abuse and injustice, are incorporated into the central panel of each of her shield-like forms. Cast in pigmented pulp, the series champions the 1989 struggles in China, the recent war in Kuwait, and the ongoing conflicts on Israel's West Bank. Each element is a different shade of some tropical color, and Dextras uses this minor variation within the repeating format to suggest the universal pervasiveness of persecution. With a similar journalistic perspective, the work of Eva Ennist reiterates Dextras's interest in other cultures, politics, and history. In Thirty Pounds of Sorrow, a captivating portrait of unconditional suffering, she incorporates xerox transfers into black pigmented paper. Varying the definition and precision of these transfers, she creates a declaration of memory and loss. With structures of flat reed, in varying states of decay, she suggests the multi-layer formation of society. Embossed into the black paper, the structure explores the cycle of life as seen by non-Western cultures. Dorothy Field's work carries an interest in human suffering, moving it to a more particular but still universal terrain. Mourning the Split and Scars I Remember, Do I Remember touch on the trauma of abuse in childhood. Working with multiple casts of the human figure, Field drapes paper sheets around her forms to create garments. With traditionally feminine tools of thread and needle, she scars and marks the surface. Field says that she uses body imagery to work with the experience of detaching one's self from pain and the subsequent reintegration and healing of the soul and body. Field has completed extensive research with Asian paper and employs different pulps to create her sculpture. Mixing British Columbian plant fibers with imported plants -- mulberry, daphne, and yucca -- she works in a Japanese style. The works of Olga Philip, Sharyn Yuen, and Pauline Morier continue this political exploration but are confined to the concerns of women, womanhood, and matriarchy. Sharyn Yuen investigates her maternal heritage in larger-than-life photos on abaca hung in wooden frames. This majestic work consists of six panels celebrating female relatives of the artist, some of whom she had never met. Using images from her mother's photo album, this piece investigates her ancestors' lives in relation to hers. Careful statements below each image give the viewer the opportunity to acknowledge Yuen's respect for them and to understand the relevance and significance of sharing in the celebration of these women. Pauline Morier's interest in the past and its impact on the present is evident in her delicate figures of Babylonian times. Morier creates an environment of archaeological discovery with layers of paper paste into which is inserted a photocopied image. The camouflaged image, exposed by light, simulates the excavation. Interested in matriarchal heritage, she selects images for their timeless relevance, building an impression of an age through transparencies. True to her archival approach, the paper between is preserved between sheets of Plexiglass. Sharing Morier's interest in matriarchy, Olga Philip develops the theme of the descent, kinship, and succession of women in her painted handmade paper panel, entitled Forward Memory of Stones. This piece, an evolutionary history of the earth and womanhood, utilizes a wire mesh structure for the core. Exposed portions of the wire are incorporated into the overall montage of hieroglyphic symbols, microscopic details of herbs, and emblematic regenerative forms. Borrowing from Philip's knowledge of Jungian psychology, the surface is laden with images of womanhood and evolution, which express her interest in the complexities of consciousness. With a communal primal voice, the beautifully carved boats of Karen Trask anchor humankind to the earth. Delicate raised hands emanate from these earth-like vessels in which humans are inseparable. Trask aims to reconcile the estrangement of man from the natural world with works aptly entitled From the Inside Out and The Winnower. She uses paper as both receptacle and restraint, to create an image of rejuvenation and to present an allegory which is a fresh approach to the dilemma facing the global community. Joyce Ryckman echoes these concerns in her works about nature, the senses, and the human body. Ecological factors determine her choice of material for artmaking. Concerned with human and biological ecology, Ryckman's The Garden One champions the life-giving properties of nature. Rag paper, cast in sheets the color of foliage, are collaged with figurative elements, creating a statement about the abuse of the natural world and our dependence on it.
Joyce Ryckman echoes these concerns in her works about nature, the senses, and the human body. Ecological factors determine her choice of material for artmaking. Concerned with human and biological ecology, Ryckman's The Garden One champions the life-giving properties of nature. Rag paper, cast in sheets the color of foliage, are collaged with figurative elements, creating a statement about the abuse of the natural world and our dependence on it. The works in The Paper Show express a variety of perspectives on the human experience and provide an exciting environment for the discovery of new answers to old issues. The collection of these works together creates a discourse about possibilities and change.
The works in The Paper Show express a variety of perspectives on the human experience and provide an exciting environment for the discovery of new answers to old issues. The collection of these works together creates a discourse about possibilities and change. </div>

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