If Walls Could Talk by Catherine Bertola!

I spotted the work of Catherine Bertola at the 'Walls Are Talking' exhibition at the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester a couple of years ago. As I wondered through rooms of wall coverings, ranging from traditional to contemporary I saw Catherine's installation through a little window in the corner. Catherine's exhibit was an intriguingly small room with walls covered in an usual overlapping floral design wallpaper. It almost looked like a 3d paper sculpture was tumbling down the wall and onto the floor, twisting and turning on itself. The colours used were very tonal and muted and what amazed me was that Catherine used ash from her own fire to achieve the colour and print.

Scratching the Surface

Scratching the Surface (detail)

Interestingly Catherine uses unusual materials to create her installations, making something beautiful by preserving things others have discarded. "My work is about labour, investing time in a very ordinary material. I use daily domestic activities or chores such as vacuuming and dusting to make my work. I use dust as a mechanism for storytelling - dust is often described as being the matter of history, a residue or fragment that enables you to reflect on the past." Sourced

Unseen By All But Me Alone

If Walls Could Talk

Beyond the Looking Glass, Ash and Paper

Bit By Bit, Piece By Piece

Everything and Nothing

After the Fact, Found Dust

Catherine studied at Newcastle University for a BA (Hons) in Fine Art before now exhibiting throughout the UK and rest of the world.

You can view more of her work here!