Juliana McDonald explores the theme of fragility in natural habitats through large-scale paper works made of tissue and rice papers. The collaged surfaces are actively tactile evoking layers of time and memory, and the delicate materials carry their own messages of transience and fluctuation. The translucent papers have been coloured with acrylic paint, then torn, crinkled, folded, woven and reassembled to create large, floating constructions that represent the fragility of threatened natural habitats. Their tactility is further enhanced with drawing, text and water-colour.
[Juliana McDonald’s] “ almost ritualistic tearing, patching, and tying together of bits of paper showed an intense desire to stop the threatened extinction of Monarch butterflies and, by extension, the destruction of our own life-world.”
Petra Halkes, PhD, Curator of “Interference”, exhibition catalogue