Naava Naslavsky

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Whimsical art in paper mache

Omaha (Nebraska)

2019

 

Paper mache could fall in the category of “unsophisticated media” as it has no glory nor is it fancy. Yet, once it is molded into a sculpture and then “dressed” with a splash of vibrant colors and “equipped” with small details, one tends to forget how simple this raw material actually is.

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Ten years ago, I started “playing” with paper maché which was my “poor man’s choice”, as it did not require any special tools or kilns. I wanted to combine art with humor, and paper maché seemed like the “right” start… but then, I never looked back again – paper maché was “my thing”!

 

I am a scientist in my “real life”. I was born and raised in Israel, in a rural and small community called “Kibbutz”. My love for nature navigated me to choose biomedical science as a career, which started in Jerusalem and ended in the USA. Today I conduct biomedical research in the University of Nebraska Medical Center, studying cell biology. Art in paper maché has become wonderful “balance” to my scientific career and I create it at night and in my free time.

 

As a scientist, I am surrounded by papers which are scientific publications that we read and write in the lab. I’m giving these scientific papers a new “life” by recycling then into an artwork.

But recycling doesn’t stop with paper: many small objects in my lab seem ideal for incorporation in my sculptures, such as pipettes (used for the very long legs of my sitting figures), syringes, caps etc etc.