C-Word Talk:
Creativity and Paper Cuts
An encounter with Mandy Smith of Papersmith
By Graham Sturt
Creative Director at VBAT
Recently , VBAT hosted paper artist Mandy Smith for a very inspiring C-Word Talk. Skipping in the footsteps of her Smith forefathers, Mandy traded her anvil and hammer for a scalpel and a cutting mat, forging a whole new era of culture colliding creations by cutting, snipping, folding and gluing. And so a Papersmith was born.
Her style of smithery pushes the material to the limit, places conformity in the recycling tray and meticulously manifests the memorable for both commercial and artistic projects of any kind.
While Mandy’s magic stems from one of mankind’s oldest materials, her expertise extends into film, animation, interactive installations and advertising. Meet the girl with the scissors:
Where were you born and raised?
“I am from Bebington which is on the Wirral, which is in Merseyside in Great Britain!”
How did you come to work in Amsterdam?
“I studied Advertising at Central Saint Martins in London and I moved to Amsterdam to work for the advertising agencies 180 and w+k, after freelancing there for a bit I left to work in production but I decided to still stay in Amsterdam.“
Being a ‘Papersmith’ sounds like a really cool profession. How did you become one?
“Whilst I was working in advertising and shortly after I’d just moved my life here, the recession of 2008/09 hit and there wasn’t exactly many briefs floating in to the agency I was working at…so to fill my time at my desk I started building a model inspired by Amsterdam. I used to make things with paper when I was little but hadn’t done so for 20 years. Once I picked it back up again however it was hard to stop and I remembered a love that I hadn’t connected with for years.“
What was your very first piece of work as Papersmith and do you still have it?
“Yes! I haven’t kept many things but the first two houses I’ve built are still on my desk. This is the first thing I made:”
What tools do you use in your work?
“I have a scalpel, a good glue, my mac computer and my cutting machine. Secondary tools are wire and foam board and card to create stronger foundations and sometimes MDF for larger scale models. Also of course are a great range of papers!”
How big is your studio?
“I rent a desk space in Random Studio who are a great company and are very gracious letting me rent a desk and sometimes rent a greater space for the largest projects.”
Paper Cuts is an interactive paper sculpture of a guillotine where people stand in line to try it out. Where did this morbid idea come from?
“Capital punishment was something I accidentally found out about when I was little, though the news, and it always stayed with me as a concept I couldn’t quite understand.
I think when something has an impact on you, you want to read more into it and understand where it came from and why.
I was initially going to make a smaller guillotine out of white paper to create an image I thought could be quite jarring and interesting. Whilst I was talking with a guy I used to work with at 180 about the concept, he mentioned it could be more interesting to create a life size version. I thought more about it and the idea of taking something that used to be a symbol of terror and being able to create something beautiful out of it was appealing and more so when the scale was 1: 1. So we collaborated and the project was born.
I was also curious by the idea that people used to go to watch it as entertainment and also wanted to turn this on it’s head. In fact, people got so used to it and a bit bored that the numbers completely dwindled for watching the executions the more they took place during the French Revolution. In a current society of people being obsessed with selfies I wanted to see how people would react with a camera there.*
It is a really interesting study.
Most Dad’s made their children go first, I had many parents asking if their children could go in (which was a weird feeling) but if the half of the project was to learn about people then of course the answer was yes, most guys made their girlfriends go first, we had disabled people who were happy we were able to include them in the line, elderly people older that 80, a lot of people got into the camera and the posing, everyone was curious by how their friends react.
Currently the project is in a Museum in Switzerland opposite the blade from the French Revolution. So it’s amazing that a self initiated art project, through the internet, can end up in front of the piece of history that inspired it.
*As a side note, this project started WAY before ISIS and their version of filming executions. In fact we had done 2 out of the 3 shows by then. We nearly didn’t launch the 3rd but the museum said it was part of our history and “entertainment” and we should start true to our study as it is part of our history.”
Tell us a bit more about the guillotine project and it’s touring exhibition.
“So this project was initially launched in the Waag Amsterdam and the society there were really interested in the project and dug up old illustrations showing that there used to be a Guillotine in front of that space. It was always part of the project that we found a magnificent place or place of wonder to put it in to ground the project. And that first location was beautiful and historical.
From there we got selected to put it in Somerset House in London for an art fair. Following on from there we were selected for the launch of the City Museum in Aarau Switzerland for they had a revolution triggered by the French Revolution and the guillotine too came there to “free the repressed” . The Museum loaned the blade from the French Revolution from France and we couldn’t refuse.
We have turned down too other cities for the Sculpture is precious to us and it’s meaning and we don’t want to put it up in a place which doesn’t feel right.
For every location we had had crafted a design to match the exhibition space and the location. With the last space having the actual blade I wanted to create a piece of artwork that really flipped the story on it’s head.
The guillotine was turned completely white and covered in thorns which grew into flowers, butterflies and birds to show how over time something that was once repressive or terrifying can become something beautiful.”
Apparently you have a special relationship with toilet paper. Please explain.
“Ha! Yes. After leaving my Advertising job and moving into Production it was the first commissioned job I received — to build a world from toilet paper. But it was amazing for a) it was super fun to work with and pretty easy once you learnt the material (glues well and sticks quickly but is NOT forgiving with dirt and smudges) but b) I went from being alone in my apartment to building up my set in LA with a team of assistants.
Then I went from one toilet paper commission to funnily my next commissioned job, another toilet paper commercial. In fact some guys in London thought I was actually a toilet paper specialist. Which I was, so to speak, but it wasn’t the dream job title I was looking for!”
Talking about paper, do you sometimes have special paper made for your projects?
“No, But I find specific papers to suit the project and sometimes speak to specialist companies.
Each project demands something different so it’s crucial to do some trial and error.”
Do you also use recycled paper for your work?
I have done it just depends on the brief. I have also used a plant leaf turned into paper and wood turned into paper. We always recycle what we can at the end of a project though.
What’s the most ambitious paper based project you’ve attempted?
“Hmmm I mean the guillotine is up there with it being a 4m high sculpture. A 3m high spinning paper dress was one of the most fun creative solutions I’ve dreamed up though.
Material wise making things out of sandpaper was the hardest thing I’ve done due to the fact that, even though it has paper in it’s name, it did not want to work like paper — in fact it hardly wanted to stick at all! It took ages in comparison. I have a part of my website dedicated to the experiments I have done.
One of your artworks even made it into the stratosphere. What happened?
“Haha I read your question like “What happened” as in when someone asks you about a mistake! It does sound like a bit of a mistake but it was commissioned. I made a sculpture for W+K and Heineken to raise money for Reporters Without Boarders. Each poster that would be auctioned off, came with an interesting story. Mine was the one that took one giant leap for a poster but it was a very interesting commission for I was super excited to see how it’d turn out and if anything would make it that high up. Would clouds interfere with it? Would moisture and altitude cause it to fall apart? Apparently none of these things damaged my paper and glue but what did cause it damage was it’s massive crash landing, all captured perfectly on film.”
Where do you find the balance between commercial and experimental projects?
“From myself, my commissioned side never does well without me creating interesting personal projects and I don’t have the money to create art pieces without the commissioned jobs. So I personally know one has never succeeded without the other.”
Where does your inspiration come from? Is it mainly personal, like when you were moving house and created ‘The Move’?
“I suppose so yes, I just take off some time to think what I’d like to create next. I take inspiration from what I’ve been reading or watching and create a project to learn more about what I’m interested in exploring.”
Do you also co-operate with other paper artists?
Sometimes, I am working with someone now but I also like collaborating with different types of artists for I think you really open up to new ways of thinking. On commissioned jobs I also work and hire more people to make the work load manageable and they have paper skills.
You worked on the Tim Burton film ‘Frankenweenie’. What did you do?
“I worked and met some really talented people that I’ve had the joy to re-meet a few times for the animation circuit in London isn’t huge. Which is lovely when you get commissioned for a job you meet people you worked with a year ago.
I worked with the art directors to build up miniature versions of the sets before they went into large scale build for set.
Who would you consider your peers? Is there anyone in particular you’d like to work with?
“There are super talented people out there and paper artists who I know and follow but apart from material use our styles are totally different.
I am just up for collaborating with anybody that I can create something cool with.
I love learning so the more different talents I meet the more I can dream up bigger and more fun collaborations.”
If you could realise the project of your dreams, what would it be?
“I have some VR ideas and music video concepts I’m trying to realise so if some of them actually take off I’d be super happy. Then hopefully one thing leads to another thing :)”
Which project took you the longest until now? Did you ever considering giving up on it and going home?
“The guillotine took many many long nights and there is a project I’m close to launching now that has created a few long hard nights. But it’s always the same way;
if you’re working on a big project and after spending so long on something, sometimes you can be so drained that the near finish line just doesn’t look close enough.
Then you just take a night off and power on through :)”
What’s the worst thing that ever happened to you whilst realising a project?
“Working long hours in the studio sometimes you sacrifice a lot of sleep and can miss some fun things with friends. Which is a hard decision to do, but close friends know what you’re trying to achieve and love you anyway so you always just have to stay strong.”
Do you work through an agent? How can clients approach you?
“I get commissions straight from client, through agencies and through production companies and I’m open to any kind of brief.”
Do you have paper art at home? What other art do you love? Where do you buy art?
“I promised myself that my paper art now stays in my studio. I’ve done the paper art at home thing and it’s nice to separate the two. Also it’s good to not hold on to everything otherwise I’ll become a bag lady but a paper version. I buy the odd hand crafted creation from other people. I bought a cool type print the other day from a designer I like and a cool lamp that I love for it looks like it would be in a Pixar movies from 150 years ago! If I see something I love I’ll buy it- most from markets, or kick starter or things I’ve found on blogs.
And last but not least: Rock, paper, scissors or stone?
“Ha, I literally played 2 people on Friday at once and I can’t even remember the last time I played! I was going to do paper out of loyalty but went with stone and won. So sometimes you have to break out of what you know and it pays off…but I felt bad about being rock ;).”
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written by Graham Sturt
Creative Director at VBAT
edited by Connie Fluhme
PR at VBAT
