"Space Invaders"

This original papercut is composed from four pages of The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks — pages 110, 112, 117 and 127 of the novel.

The central figure draws on the strange symbolic world of the book: masks, ritual, and the uneasy question of identity that runs throughout the story. The character appears insect-like, echoing the novel’s disturbing imagery while remaining deliberately ambiguous — neither fully human nor creature.

Beneath the composition appears the novel’s opening line:

“I had been making the rounds of the Sacrifice Poles the day we heard my brother had escaped.”

The text has been formed from letters removed during the cutting process so that the words remain materially connected to the pages of the book itself.

The papercut is constructed from multiple pages of the novel and mounted onto a black background. The artwork is both carefully adhered and hand stitched so that sections of the cut paper sit slightly away from the surface. This allows the composition to cast subtle shadows and gives the piece depth and movement.

The work is presented in a hand-finished box frame with a 20 mm space between the artwork and the glass, allowing elements of the papercut to rise from the surface and creating a quiet three-dimensional presence.

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 330mm x 470mm out of the frame.
In the frame, the artwork is 350mm 490mm

Presented in a hand-finished black 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.