Cecilia Levy
Sigtuna, Sweden
Sigtuna, Sweden
Bio: Formerly a graphic designer and bookbinder, Cecilia Levy now works full time as an independent artist. She exhibits in Sweden and abroad, works with private and public art commissions, and is represented in permanent collections including the Nationalmuseum in Sweden. Levy’s work includes sculptures, objects, and installations that use old books, wheat paste, and papier maché technique. The artist is represented by Konsthantverkarna, in Stockholm.
Statement: My working material, paper–mainly from old books–is fragile and perishable. I tear, cut, and shred the pages and merge them together again using wheat paste and papier-mâché technique. The book is re-created in a way, but takes on a new form. The two-dimensional becomes three-dimensional. The process is slow and meditative.
Many books are given to me by friends or acquaintances who have emptied the homes of elderly parents who have passed away. Antiquarian bookshops and charity organizations rarely accept old books anymore; no one buys them any longer.
I love books, being a former graphic designer and bookbinder. However, I look at my material (books) just like that: a material. I process and refine it. But using books also evokes reactions. Tearing apart a book is not unproblematic, however appealing the result may be. The book has a status, symbolizes enlightenment, and is seen as something almost sacred. I find that very interesting. It's loaded with symbolism and emotion.
I feel humbled by the traces of previous readers. Dedications, scribbles in the margins--all are signs of the passage of time. The pages, sometimes fragile, discolored, spotted, with holes; the typography; and occasionally the odd content all contribute to what I want to express around concepts like time, traces, and memories.
Statement: My working material, paper–mainly from old books–is fragile and perishable. I tear, cut, and shred the pages and merge them together again using wheat paste and papier-mâché technique. The book is re-created in a way, but takes on a new form. The two-dimensional becomes three-dimensional. The process is slow and meditative.
Many books are given to me by friends or acquaintances who have emptied the homes of elderly parents who have passed away. Antiquarian bookshops and charity organizations rarely accept old books anymore; no one buys them any longer.
I love books, being a former graphic designer and bookbinder. However, I look at my material (books) just like that: a material. I process and refine it. But using books also evokes reactions. Tearing apart a book is not unproblematic, however appealing the result may be. The book has a status, symbolizes enlightenment, and is seen as something almost sacred. I find that very interesting. It's loaded with symbolism and emotion.
I feel humbled by the traces of previous readers. Dedications, scribbles in the margins--all are signs of the passage of time. The pages, sometimes fragile, discolored, spotted, with holes; the typography; and occasionally the odd content all contribute to what I want to express around concepts like time, traces, and memories.