Zoe Keramea

Paper sculptor

Exploring folded surfaces

Zoe is inspired by physically handling her materials
She is trained to draw, carve, cut, fold, knot and sew with precision
She never uses glue; her works are all sewn

Zoe Keramea’s professional training and explorations of printmaking have led her outside the confines of traditional painting, drawing and printmaking. Inspired by a Japanese student of hers and a young child who taught her how to make a crane by folding a paper napkin, as well as fold small square pieces of paper into tiny boxes, her works started transitioning from two to three dimensions. “There was a certain fascination in manipulating these flat surfaces into something that had volume,” she says. Later, she began making larger modular sculptures sewn together with thread. Zoe was chosen to represent Greece at the 18th Biennale of Sydney in 2012.

Interview

When did you first think of getting involved with the arts?: When I was a child, it was a great joy when my mother and I would sit together and go through our art books, looking at the reproductions. My favorite was Paul Klee. Could my mother have known the direction she was steering me towards?
How would you describe your work?: I explore the play between surface and space. I like to provoke viewers to engage with the work; let it play with their perception. Often, I encourage the public to play with the work.
What’s unique about what you do?: Many of my pieces can exist in multiple states and can radically change according to how they are displayed. Also, the works are sewn, I never use glue. What I love most about my art is when unexpected paths and discoveries reveal themselves while I am working.
Any memorable moments in your professional life?: I will never forget my astonishment when I unexpectedly saw my Leopard Moth reproduced on a five-storey high banner hanging on the facade of the Museum of Contemporary Art – Australia, announcing the 18th Biennale of Sydney.

Zoe Keramea is an expert artisan: she began her career in 1982