Ruairi Barfoot

Mainly working with the medium of paper my practice focuses on creating ethereal, organic forms both in two dimensional and three-dimensional aspects. Armed with a scalpel, I create thousands of cut shapes within the paper that mimic natural phenomena such as cloud formations and entangling roots. Tapping into malleability of the fragile yet versatile material I aim to create dominating intricate sculptures that resemble the natural world yet do not directly mirror its image, instead evoking notions of mystery and the sublime. These suspended sculptures, while stagnant, appear to be everchanging in form due to the direct interplay of light and shadow. This immersive experience I strive to achieve is enhanced due to the suggestion of viewing these pieces from different angles.

My two-dimensional work takes inspiration from Art Nouveau as well as Japanese woodblock prints as I attempt to force natural forms onto sheets of paper by spontaneously cutting shapes out, resulting in a sprawling image of thousands of different shapes fluidly interacting with each other.

I operate a zero-waste policy within my work, every offcut is utilised within my practice and often informs a new avenue for my work to grow, while unusable paper is then recycled to then be reformed into new sheets ready to be cut in to.