A Critical Review: Sachiko Abe ‘Cut Papers’

When entering the ‘A Foundation Gallery’(1) within Liverpool you are immediately hit with laughter of those enjoying each others company, it is a friendly and welcoming environment. A man stands just inside the entrance, directing you to a hidden door which you probably would not have noticed if he had not been there to guide you. Intrigued, you enter the door to see a pathway of gravel and signs saying you must not make a sound, which is quite ironic considering the circumstances of walking upon material that generates noise, as you enter the room.

In contrast to the open and inviting surrounding of the entrance, silence consumes the area as you step inside the room; it feels as though you are entering in to a fairytale. You feel a sense of calm but can’t quite figure out why. You are also faced with a sculpture that looks unstable, stretching the entire height of the room, which is some feat considering the room looks like an empty warehouse. On closer inspection you find that in fact this entrancing sculpture is a pile of paper cuttings carefully hung leading you on a trail. Your eyes follow the strands of paper until you find the artist sitting high on a balcony, in concentration snipping at sheets of paper. Slowly you notice a soft ticking sound which is coming from her scissors that are connected to a speaker; this sends you into a sense of a tranquil trance.

                                                           

‘Cut Papers’ for me seems to have a state of purity. Everything that has been added to the space is white and clean, even Abe, the artist, was wearing a white flowing dress. The idea of purity is highlighted by the expanse of bare brick work in the room. There are beds situated around the room for the audience to sit on and watch the performance take place. My immediate reaction was that the artist wanted to portray a type of fairytale highlighting the innocence of childhood; this led my thoughts to think of the tale of ‘Rapunzel.’ Similarly, the artist being trapped up high symbolises ‘Rapunzel’, whilst the mound of paper symbolises the time spent cutting and the flowing downwards motion of the paper acts as her hair. The beds are for the audience to sit; however, they may lie upon them and enter a dream like state whilst watching the performance.

Her expression to me is very important, she seems to be in deep concentration, never taking her eyes of the paper which she is cutting; sending Abe into her own dream world. Although Abe never once looks to the audience you still feel a connection with her. Becoming transported to Abes private world makes the experience more intimate which unsettles the balance of the room. 

Even through the grandeur of the room it’s hard not to pay full attention to Abe. She fills the room with her presence and commands the room and its audience to focus only on her again adding to the strange balance of the rooms dynamics. Even when looking at the sculpture I could feel myself wanting to look up at Abe, this is partly due to the fact she is positioned high off of the ground. Normally this signifies power, control and a God-like status which I feel is relevant to the piece. I believe Abe wants the cutting to be portrayed as having an air of importance and being off ground level contributes to that therefore making the action the focus of the piece.

Abe first started creating art to get away from the restraints and restrictions of the Self Defence Forces which is ironic due to the type of work she creates (2). ‘Cut Papers’ for me is about constraints of time, repetition and control, taking Abe 40 minutes to cut one sheet of paper (3). The steadiness and duration of the cutting requires a lot of skill and self motivation and all this I feel has reference to her past in the Self Defence Forces. This is rather ironic as she wanted to leave the forces because Abe felt becoming an artist would make her life more ‘free’. (2)

When further researching Abe’s background ‘Cut Papers’ has taken on a darker connotation and the information changed my whole perception of the piece. Abe started cutting paper when she was in a mental institution to stop from cutting herself (3).  For me, in ‘Cut Papers’ there is a direct link to this and I feel she is showing control over her need to cut herself through repetition, rhythmic cutting and not allowing her concentration to break. Through out the performance Abe stays in a state of total calmness and I feel that cutting paper has become an obsession as it was once her release from the action of cutting herself. The room now takes on this idea of a mental institution/hospital room by the material use of basic bedding and crisp, clean white sheets.

(Photograph (4))

Abe states ‘my work is neither beautiful nor meditational’ (2) which I disagree with. ‘Cut Papers’ for me is definitely meditational due to the rhythmic cutting and transforms the space into a place of calm and serenity. The only aspect of time is the duration of Abe cutting and the mass that follows allowing the viewer to get completely lost for hours in her work. The piece is undoubtedly aesthetically pleasing and definitely has a place in Liverpool’s Biennial ‘Touched’ (1).

(1)Sachiko Abe (‘Touched’, 18^th December-28^th December). ‘Cut Papers’. Available: A Foundation’ Curated by Mark Waugh. Last Visited 26^th Oct 2010.

(2) Mark Waugh. (‘Touched’, 18th December-28th December). ‘Sachiko Abe’. Available: http://www.biennial.com/. Last accessed 16^th Nov 2010.

(3)Boucher, C. (24 April 2005 ). ‘Scissors cut paper....’

Available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2005/apr/24/art. Last accessed 16th Nov 2010.