Canadian artist Lizz Aston makes remarkable, often sculptural, works out of delicate materials—namely, papers and dyes.
“In my work I try to bridge the gaps between traditional textile practice and contemporary art and design,” Aston says.
Paper is a great material to work with because “it holds a lot of memory, it’s very transformative, you can do a lot of things with it sculpturally,” Aston tells us in our latest in-studio video by Karly McCloskey.
Sometimes as tall as two storeys, Aston’s paper sculptures are often based on the design of a single, small doily.
Aston uses Photoshop to morph the doily pattern, then uses laser-cutters and other devices to create the final work.
“I’m interested in looking at and manipulating a pattern in as many ways as possible in order to abstract it.”
Canadian Art’s newest video takes us inside Aston’s live-work studio in east-end Toronto for a closer look at her process.