Paper, Plants, and Identity with May Babcock

APRIL 27, 2023 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM

Link to watch the captioned recording.

May Babcock's artwork uses foraged plant fibers for papermaking to engage with both the materiality of place and discovery of multiracial identity. In this talk, the artist will take a deep dive into how we collectively talk about plants from other places (think of the words 'invasive' or 'native') and her work towards an ecocentric way of thinking about problematic plants, humans, and nature.

May Babcock is an interdisciplinary American artist whose work is rooted in hand papermaking and place, and involves turning plants and seaweed into paper. Her practice reconnects people to the voice of the land and waters, transforming plant fibers, sediment, and site materials into expansive installations, organic sculptures, analog photos and prints on paper, and textured two-dimensional works of paper.

Her artwork intersects the fields of hand papermaking, contemporary craft, book arts, ecological art, gardening, public art, community building, sculpture, installation art, printmaking, and analog photography. The artist teaches and exhibits widely, and has been the recipient of numerous artist residencies, grants, and fellowships. Babcock is a Certified Invasive Plant Manager and a Master Gardener.

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