Joyce Utting Schutter — Fiber sculpture
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Each sculpture I make is like an incarnation of a breath, not of the whole life, but containing enough interplay of elements to convey some of the essence and balance of the whole. The materials I use are temporal. Many were once alive. I work in handmade paper and organic found objects, which imbue the work with a mortality of its own. My original process combines a steel armature with an interwoven fiber substrate, many layers of sprayed or hand applied pulp, and embedded found objects. My pieces are made with attention to archival concerns, but require certain conditions to be maintained in order to ensure their longevity, as does the natural world around us. Mortality is a recurring theme in my work. Some of my pieces are inspired by the interconnectedness throughout nature, others are narratives. When creating a piece, I attempt to capture some of what I see as the visual music of the world around me, synthesizing a harmony of natural and human design. Although each component is carefully chosen with symbolic references, it is not my intention that those who view my work would dissect and analyze it. Each piece is created with careful attention to the whole, not a puzzle to be solved or a message to be deciphered, but a breath to be inhaled.
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