Recently we met Layla May Arthur at her exhibition Solo Show, “The Storyteller, the Listener and our story” at the VCRB Gallery in Knokke, Belgium.
There she exhibited her stunning artworks, circular objects showing elaborate patterns she cut in paper. But she not only performs the most artful cuttings in paper, she does so much more with this fragile medium she uses. She literally sculpts and uses several layers of paper to create unique, transparent paper objects. This transparency is an essential ingredient of the unique character of her creations. It allows the creation of most intriguing shadow effects under different lighting setups.
The details she carves and cuts into the paper tell a story. Compelling, but also mysterious and leaving us with many questions. What are the worlds she describes? Have they existed long ago, have they now disappeared or do we see the presence? Do the cuttings and images describe ancient civilizations; depict people who have been our forefathers somewhere in the world? Do they tell the magic of the orient, or the mythical beginnings of our civilization(s)?
Layla lets us dream away when we admire her work and its dramatic reflections. She invites the onlooker to step into her shadow projections and the viewer can project his interpretations into the work. She feels this experience encourages engagement with the work and allows the audience to become a part of an ongoing dialogue. Her exhibition here could also fittingly be called “The Storyteller, the Spectator or Viewer and our story”
Layla tells us how she came to working with paper. “Four, five years ago I went to an exhibition by another paper artist, and she made flat paperwork, and it was the first time that I have ever seen paper art, it was only paper, there was nothing added, nothing changed, it was just paper. So I started myself working with paper, also flat, and after a while I started to realize that with the incidence of light and shadows shining through the paper, it would be useful in my further expression. So I started playing with lighting and paper, and layering the paper, and doing the paper in different shapes to make different types of shadows.
We asked then if she wasn’t intrigued and fascinated by the Indonesian puppet plays with paper.
“Yes, indeed as well,” Layla answered, “but actually, I am starting to look at it now, because it involves also movement and other people who make these movements.”
We thought the imagery and the storytelling is fascinating… “Thank You” she exclaimed.
Layla also exhibits at the VCRB Gallery also some unidimensional paper cuttings, with mainly trees as a theme, but also showing other subjects.
Her journey to create artworks using and consisting of paper as a medium, spans already over several years, and her paper works have been exhibited internationally in America, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands.
Layla, born in Jersey and currently living in the Netherlands, has recently turned her focus to work as a set designer. Her focus on craftsmanship and background in the art world makes her work perfect for in store installations and set designs for products.
We show you here some of the three-dimensional creations she exhibited at VCRB Gallery, which were with much elegance and creativity displayed on suspended round tables, illuminated by led miniature lamps placed within the tubular artworks, which caused wonderful 360 ° reflections on the surrounding walls. I photographed the objects using different color temperatures to add additional interest to the images.
The exhibition runs at VCRB Gallery Knokke, Zeedijk 697a, 8300 Knokke, until February 2, 2023.
Hans Knol ten Bensel
