A passion for paper art

IN a world where everything is going digital, one Sarawakian artist finds immense joy and satisfaction in working with paper as a medium.

Ceres Lau said a recent collaborative project with Scottish distillery The Balvenie was an eye-opening reaffirmation of what her lifelong passion and work with paper really represent.

“When The Balvenie approached me and I saw the brief, I was thrilled yet anxious at the same time. It was something very new to me.

Lau's paper sculpted poppies are a delicate work of art.“Working with The Balvenie really opened my eyes to how people find value in things that are hand-crafted and how we put our hearts into everything we make,” she said.

Lau, who draws artistic inspiration from nature and Malaysian cultural events, has come a long way since the beginning of her journey in paper artistry about a decade ago.

Wryly, she said that when people talk about paper, the first thing that comes to mind is either photocopy paper or, worse, toilet paper.

“Paper as a medium was often considered an unappealing and cheap material back then. As an art form, it was far less known than it is today.

“Personally, I was amazed by the unlimited possibilities of paper. You can bend, fold, cut, sculpt and carve on it, basically do anything to transform it.

“Until today, I’m still fascinated by the versatility of this everyday object that we often take for granted.

“I see it as a beautiful medium on its own, even more so when explored and experimented with. Working with paper is both exciting and challenging,” she said.

Trained in graphic design, Lau vividly remembers her childhood experiences playing with paper and making quilled bookmarks for friends.

“When I started college, I began using paper again for my assignments. However, it was not encouraged because I was majoring in graphic design.

Lau collects all kinds of paper from around the world for her art.

“Doing hands-on work was not ‘the thing’. I stopped after that, focusing on digital works instead.

“During my final year in college, I managed to transfer to a university in London.

“It was there I rediscovered paper, with the help and advice of my lecturer. From then on, I responded to all assignments given throughout the year using only paper,” she said.

Despite the encouraging start, Lau faced further obstacles when she returned to Malaysia after graduation.

“I gave in to peer pressure and did not engage with paper for a year or two. I was given small opportunities and slowly started to pick it up again while working three different jobs at a time to support myself.

“It was in 2017 that I decided to dedicate myself fully to paper, and I have been creating with paper since,” she said.

Lau works with various kinds of paper, usually fine commercial paper from GF Smith, Daler Rowney and Takeo, and watercolour paper from Arches.

A Christmas-themed artwork with ribbons and mistletoe.

“I mostly use archival quality paper and adhesives. Sometimes I use unbranded paper in my work if the colour and texture appeal to me. I have a collection of these from trips.

“My current favourites would be GF Smith’s Colorplan series and watercolour paper from Arches, as they are both great for me to experiment with the carving technique that I have been using,” she said.

On the carving technique, she said she experiments with it from time to time, sometimes merging it with paper sculpting.

“This is done by carving on the surface of a flat piece of paper and creating three-dimensional effects by applying different pressure and strokes of the knife,” she explained.

Her works are mostly used as cover art for books and magazines and also in advertisements.

Besides The Balvenie, her clients and international collaborations include McDonald’s, Harper Collins, Van Cleef & Arpels, Nestle and others.

For her own works as an artist, she has exhibited in Malaysia, Britain, Europe, the United States, China and Indonesia.

She also participated in an international paper art event in the Netherlands where she spent days creating pieces and conducting workshops and sharing sessions with multi-disciplinary artists from all over the world.

As much as she loves working on commercial projects, Lau aims to produce sculptural works specifically for exhibitions.

She is also interested in exploring paper-making using resources that are native to Sarawak.

While there are definitely a lot of things she wished she had known in the past, she realised she would not change anything as she looks back.

“I believe that everything happens for the reason it was meant to occur so that I can become the person and artist I am today. It was, and still is, a journey of growth.

“For now, the only advice I would tell myself is never to stop making art, regardless of what happens,” she said.