‘A simple material that can be used in a thousand different ways … my lifelong love affair with paper and tissue.’
My relationship with paper as a creative medium didn’t begin with my artistic research as an adult, but much earlier, during my childhood. When I was in reception school, a TV show used to air that explained step-by-step how to create artworks using toilet paper and PVA glue. I was fascinated by these projects and tried to replicate them, often with poor results. Yet, beyond those early attempts, paper was already fundamental to me: a simple material that could be used in a thousand differenat ways – cut, glued, and coloured. As a child, I spent entire days drawing on printer paper, cutting out garlands to hang, or engaging in games that are rarely seen today, such as dressing up paper dolls, assembling three-dimensional paper houses, or making jointed animals with split pins.
We could say that everything began with a simple A4 sheet and my pencil.
It was from this very starting point that, after completing my degree in Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, my research restarted through Fine Art Printmaking. Even though we used fine papers for art printing, the memories that resurfaced were the authentic ones from my childhood and of carefree play with this material – delicate, yet ductile and surprising. At the Academy, fine paper and complex printing processes were not limited to being exhibited; they themselves demanded to be manipulated, cut, and glued to truly take shape.
During that period of research, I was extremely fascinated by the microscopic: an insect, a tiny house, a blade of grass.
Once that path was completed, I found myself working on large surfaces, such as for the Slow Miami project, which I created for Gambini’s booth at the Tissue World Miami exhibition held in April this year.
Slow Miami uses pencil strokes that break free from the walls of buildings to populate metaphysical scenarios suspended in time. The tropical dynamism of Floria meets the silent grace of the Italian “piazza”: a reference to the atmospheres of De Chirico, where perspectives become expansive and breaths deeper.
Throughout my life, I use toilet paper for hygiene. However, since it’s usually the only paper product I keep at home, I often end up using it for other purposes as well, such as a substitute for tissues when needed.
I do try to minimise the use of disposable products due to my environmental ethics. Trying to maintain as sustainable a lifestyle as possible is extremely important to me. Sometimes it’s not easy due to our fast-paced lifestyles and the limited time available, which occasionally leads me to buy disposable or cheap products. However, I try to take great care whenever I can to make conscious, eco-friendly choices. Even in my work, I try to use non-polluting materials and products – from paper and wood to water-based paints – and I reuse my tools, like brushes, as many times as possible.
I buy toilet paper at the supermarket purely for convenience. In my hectic life, where I travel frequently to create my artwork, I don’t have much time to dedicate to shopping. However, supermarkets offer a wide selection nowadays, so I try to make a conscious choice by picking the most environmentally friendly option available.
I do think my shopping habits have changed over the years, but only because I am now an established artist and more aware and better informed.
With my travels over the years, a trip to India stands out. Two years ago, I backpacked throughout the country for two months. I travelled far and wide, and in every region I visited toilet paper was rarely used and was incredibly expensive. In the hostels where I stayed, they provided very little of it, if any, or we had to buy it ourselves in a shop, and its price was really high compared to other products. Instead of paper, they use water much more, and there are actually health faucets (small showers) next to the toilets. Since my return, I have learned to use paper more carefully.
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