Recycled Papermaking Art at Scale: A Big Cake Installation in the National Gallery
Recycled papermaking isn’t just a sustainable way of making art. Based in London, Lucie MacGregor’s recycled paper artwork transcends into “a material that holds a collective archive.” Her artist statement explains “as a queer and neurodivergent artist, I find the levels of visibility within paper pulping an empowering notion.” Recently, the artist completed Nobody gave it you on a plate, a truly impressive pulped paper installation for the National Gallery in London, and took the time to share the experience with us all. Enjoy this guest post! — May Babcock
Lucie MacGregor, Nobody gave it you on a plate, 2024
Pulped paper and birthday cards, wood, carpenter pencils, ribbon, 3 x 2.5 x 2.5 m
National Gallery, London
I've just completed a recent commission for the National Gallery in London that took my paper making onto a whole new scale. So increasing the scale of my paper sculptures and constructing them into sculpture was the challenge, and challenge it was.
The challenge was firstly creating that much paper pulp! I received a lot of paper donations from friends, family and studio mates. The project was centered around the gallery's 200th birthday, hence the use of birthday cards and construction of a cake sculpture. Many contributors came to my studio and ripped up and pulped their paper archives themselves, which brought an intimate sense of collaboration, story sharing, and co-ownership to the sculpture. The colours of the cards also guided the colours of the panels. Valentine's Day and Christmas cards became the jam centre and Easter cards the inside sponge! The panels were also connected to the specific colours in the galleries art collection and some of the exhibition catalogues also made it into the pulp.
I also had to battle the stereotypically British weather of wind and rain during this project. I was drying out the big sheets outside and the bad weather really slowed this part of the process. Typically we got summer heat and sun on the week of the install! So timing and having drying times on our side was a tricky one.
The sheer scale of this sculpture (3 metres x 2.2 meters) meant I really pushed my understanding of paper pulping into new ways and constructing a form with flat plains of paper. I also have never made such a large artwork, so it was fascinating to consider how I could frame and embed specific images, textures and colours in the pulp.
I always enjoy receiving the Paperslurry newsletter and the niche, accessible and playful sharing it offers, so big thanks for that and it has definitely aided my own art making. I first made paper pulp during 2020 when I was leaving my studio and had various paper hoards. I think the first one I made was done so over my bath and dried out on a towel on my bedroom floor! I had a funny return to this moment 4 years ago, just recently desperately trying to dry out huge paper pulps in my bedroom with all my heaters on!
— Lucie MacGregor
Lucie MacGregor (she/her) is an multidisciplinary artist and educator whose making harbors the synchronicities between found materials and the situations they are extracted from. Read more about the project at luciemacgregor.com, and follow Lucie on Instagram @lucie_macgregor