Paper Sculptures

These paper sculptures were made following research expeditions to the Turkana badlands in northern Kenya during a residency in Nairobi. Known as the cradle of mankind because of the abundance of fossil deposits found there, the  badlands in Turkana as well as the pastoralist nomads who live there unearthed questions for me about the notion of advancement engrained in Western thinking and whether we should we really be thinking of 'pre-history' as a temporary transitional stage whose destiny is ‘progress’.

Using handmade papers produced from plant fibres collected from the landscapes of Kenya these paper sculptures and collages merge the past and the present. The ancient geology of Turkana and England’s Jurassic coast are embedded  into the works with with fossils, prehistoric rocks, organic specimens and desert driftwood.