To create these works (2012 – 2015), I rely on a very essential set of tools: graphite, natural glue, ink and paper. I manipulate several layers of paper, focusing on the substance of the cellulose, on its structure, on its body. The resulting works require neither frame nor support but rely on the barebone physicality of paper. They are fragile and strong at the same time. The series was born while working on the piece Briefe / Letters (2008). For this work, I recorded the sounds produced by my physical gestures while writing and composed them into a sound piece. I placed large sheets of paper on the floor and set-up two microphones to capture the sound of the pencil on the paper. Since the amount of paper sheets I had was limited, I kept writing on the same sheet over and over to record enough audio samples. Eventually, the words were superimposed with one another composing many different layers. This visual composition struck me. The words were unreadable, yet the absence of meaning intensified their visual impact. The unreadable words had a strong evocative power, independently from their meaning.

I’ve been working on this series of works on paper for several years. I made black on black framed pictures, where one can see the handwriting signs only under particular light conditions. In the installation Labyrinth (2012), I used large scale black works for the walls. Inthe last years, the focus shifted on transparencies and structures. These works are a bare-bones manifestation of presence. They are silence. They are eroded sediments of words. They are traces of thoughts on the underlying substance of cellulose. They are both presence and absence at the same time, creation and corrosion.

Work on Paper #1 has been awarded the Visual Art Prize of Com.It.Es. Berlin  / Committee of Italians Abroad 2016.

Morphology
Ink and graphite on archival paper
27 x 35 cm ca.
75 x 110 cm ca.
140 x 190 cm ca.

Credits
Margherita Pevere: concept and realisation