"Flies and Spiders"

This original papercut is composed from a single page of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit — page 130, which also forms the title page for Chapter VIII, Flies and Spiders.

The work draws on the dark woodland of Mirkwood, where Bilbo and the dwarves find themselves trapped beneath the dense forest canopy and surrounded by spiders. The tangle of branches reflects the oppressive atmosphere of that part of the story, while the spider poised above the scene hints at the moment the forest reveals its hidden dangers.

The woodland itself is based on one of my own photographs of dense forest. The forms of the trees were translated into the cut page so that Tolkien’s text becomes the landscape of Mirkwood.

The composition is cut entirely from this single page.

The papercut has been hand stitched onto a black background, allowing the paper to sit slightly away from the surface. This creates depth and shadow across the work, giving the cut page a sense of space and movement.

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.

Artwork is A4 in size (210mm x 297mm)
Inside the frame, the artwork is 320mm x 230mm

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.