I love the fact that the Japanese have an expression for the beauty of the fleeting moment, “mono no aware” and a profound appreciation for the fragile and impermanent. It’s why people take time off work and gather in parks to admire the cherry blossom, and the weather forecast in March and April includes up to the minute predictions of when and where the blossom will be at its peak.
My work with cut paper is inherently fragile and I’m interested in the fact that it is not built to last. Hanging some of the cut outs in my garden amidst the apple blossom, which has been spectacular over the last few days but is already beginning to fall, seemed an interesting thing to do.
Last night it rained and the hangings have warped and melted into new shapes, some collapsing to the ground amongst the fallen petals. That’s Ok. The paper I used came from old office computer paper that was quite thin and not built to survive much use for any other purpose, especially being cut out and hung in a tree then battered by wind and rain!
I’ve been thinking about making outdoor installations with cut paper shapes in a woodland setting, using natural light and shadow; I’d definitely need to use stronger, more weather resistant materials for this but it is a journey of discovery,an exploration. Perhaps there is a Japanese word for this, too?
And meanwhile, I’m going to gather up the wet fallen hangings and make them into paper pulp with some of the apple blossom petals. So nothing is wasted.
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