Reading is a virtue that grants the mind to expand its spectrum of knowledge and imagination. London-based artist Su Blackwell, an avid reader, draws inspiration from the art of the written word found in books and uses that creative influence to produce her remarkable book sculptures. The sculptor constructs physical representation of textual narrative, making her pieces like meta-sculptures, figures made of stories telling stories.
Blackwell’s three-dimensional dioramas and cut-out illustrations are heavily influenced by chronicles of folklore and fantasy-driven tales. By reworking the physical pages of fairy tales, cutting and pasting them together, the artist designs enchanting miniature installations atop a lain open-faced book. She assembles each piece entirely out of books, occasionally encasing the sculptures in wooden display boxes or glass domes to add an interesting effect. While placing the piece in a wooden box gives the appearance of a painting or perhaps a puppet show, the glass-domed encasement adds a snow globe effect, mimicking a moment caught in time.
