people make paper maché
COMMONSpace

people make paper maché shows works made by children in workshops run by artist Josie KO during the October Holiday. Commissioned as part of Black History Month and inspired by the recent GoMA exhibition Revisiting the works of Black Artists in Scotland Through New Collecting, the focus was to create an idealised Glasgow landscape, capturing monumental buildings and sites that we love. KO asked everyone to look at our local landscape in Glasgow and consider how it has been impacted by its strong colonial past. This includes the building and site of GoMA itself which has been the home of a Tobacco Lord and the Royal Exchange.

’the actual practices of cutting and pasting pieces together, it has west African roots to it. … Montaging and collaging is a very intense process’

Maud Sulter 1993

The Glasgow landscape uses lots of collage techniques inspired by the work of Glasgow born artist Maud Sulter.  The vases were inspired by the ceramic works of Donald Locke and another work was inspired by Timespan – a painting by Tam Joseph that shows a leaping cat. While Joseph’s cat is black and mysterious, here it is a multicolour three-dimensional interpretation in paper-maché and tissue paper.

GoMA and Josie KO would like to thank everyone involved in the workshops.

Art allows us to think while making and inspires really interesting conversations, no matter how young you are. This is why I think using art as a tool to discuss the importance of our landscape is so useful and also fun! Art allows us to think while making and inspires really interesting conversations, no matter how young you are. This is why I think using art as a tool to discuss the importance of our landscape is so useful and also fun!

I think it is so important to educate the next generation of children about the importance of Black history month and give them the knowledge to know the truth behind the city they are growing up in. This is an education that I lacked growing up and so many adults still continue to not be educated about.

Josie KO 2022