"A Potential for Corruption"

This papercut is composed from the opening page of The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter’s collection of dark and subversive fairy tales.

The composition centres on the form of an arum lily — a recurring image throughout the stories. In Carter’s writing the flower appears both beautiful and ominous, echoing the themes of innocence, desire and transformation that run through the collection..

Cut directly from the first page of the book, fragments of the text remain within the image. Beneath the page, a line from the story is reconstructed using letters cut from the discarded sections of the page:

“I saw in myself a potential for corruption that took my breath away.”

Separated from the body of the text and placed below the image, the sentence becomes a quiet reflection on the darker interior worlds Carter explores.

Hand cut.

The papercut is stitched by hand onto a black background so the page sits slightly away from the surface, allowing light and shadow to pass through the cut paper.

The work is presented in a hand-finished box frame with a 20 mm gap between the artwork and the glass, allowing sections of the page to lift from the surface and create subtle depth.

This work is the only hand-cut instance of the composition, made directly from a specific page of the text.

A small studio edition may be developed from this work at a later date, derived from the original and produced through a separate, fixed process.

The framed artwork is 320mm x 230mm

The artwork itself is A4 in size (210mm x 297mm)

Presented in a hand-finished white wooden box frame with UV glass.

The artwork itself is complete and signed in the studio.

Each original work is carefully framed and prepared for shipment upon purchase.

Please allow up to 10 days for dispatch.