Projects: wallpaper icebergs

Photo Meredith Carruthers

Inspired in part by the landscape of the Scottish Highlands and in part by landscape painting by Canadian artist Lawren Harris, in 2001 I created a set of wall paper icebergs.

These hats were fashioned from blown vinyl wallpaper that I discovered at a local boyscout jamboree and rummage sale. Blown vinyl wallpapers are very popular in Glasgow apartments, particularly the student digs and tenement flats I had the chance to visit while in Glasgow. blown vinyl wallcoverings are deeply textured and resemble relief decoration such as pressed tin or embossed papers. The papers have a textured surface but a flat back, are very strong and versatile for sewing, gluing or multi-piece pattern construction. By building up the vinyl patterns with epoxy and filling my forms with quick set plaster, I was even able to make use of the Glasgow school of art design-prototype department to plastic replicas of my icebergs.

The hats were later filmed in the highlands, balanced on the heads of volunteer artists from the Glasgow mfa program. This performance/ tourist film was recorded in all of its golden-light filled glory on super-8 film, with special thanks to artist Gregory King.