Infinite paradoxes created in paper
- Eric stacks hundreds of layers of intricately cut paper to assemble his complex pieces
- The ornate architectural details of mosques and cathedrals inspire him
- He compares his creative process to the act of composing music
Working with paper, with its inherent fragility and vulnerability, Eric Standley creates complex multilayered artworks. He is attracted to the idea of paradoxes and multisided arguments, which he aims to represent in his creations. To create that visualisation in paper, Eric uses a laser engraver to cut paper layers. To create the 3D forms he envisages, the next step is to painstakingly assemble the layers into artworks that seem to be expanding infinitely outwards. “Our bodies are made to be in the moment of becoming, always one step ahead of where we are,” he says. “When I am creating my artwork, I think I am the best person I can be because I am all in at that moment of becoming.” Eric’s pieces have been acquired by institutions and galleries around the world, from Brazil and South Korea to New York City.
INTERVIEW
Laser cutting is an instrument for me. To begin with, I wanted to get to know it and learn to play with it. My pieces take a long time to make. I like to think they can offer something new to the viewer, even when they have been looking at them for a long time.
Mosques, temples and cathedrals get me daydreaming. I like the colossal size of a place built to have people transcend their bodies or have a relationship to God. I then bring that down into a space made with paper, a space that you can only occupy with your eyes.
Making a piece is like composing a song. I have an idea of how it will begin or be supported in space, and an idea of how it will end. It has a focal point or shape. The areas in between are opportunities for improvisation. That is what I live for, to make decisions about colour, line and what is concealed and revealed.
The artworks are designed to be seen from different angles and they change as you move. It is part of the intention I have for my work that you can see paradoxes within them, and physically view how different meanings can exist at the same time.
