The Linen Biennale NI is delighted to be able to support Canada-based paper and fiber artist Regine Neumann’s residency in Northern Ireland this summer for her research project FlaxPaperLab.  

Regine is an instructor in Fibre Art and Papermaking at Bishop's University, Quebec. Her FlaxPaperLab project is inspired by the digital FabLab movement – digital fabrication laboratories which provide access to digital tools and knowledge for free, or very low cost, in a highly creative and generative environment. FlaxPaperLab aims to create such a comparable collective learning environment and to develop new strategies for working with flax pulp, and for integrating collaboration into the creative process.

She will be resident in Flax Artist Studios in Bedford Street Belfast from 15th July – 26th August. Watch the window space on Bedford Street fill up with samples as the days go by, and follow her process on Instagram @growing_material_for_art.  Regine has arranged a variety of open workshops and collaborations with various partners. In her workshops, participants can expect to make paper from flax fibers that have been turned into pulp at the Pulp Paper Arts Workshop in Glasgow, alongside Northern Irish flax, grown and processed by Mallon Linen in Cookstown. 

The last chance to visit Regine Neumann in the FlaxPaperLab is through her open studio day on Thursday 24th August 5pm–7pm.

ALL WELCOME

About the Artist

Originally from Germany, Regine Neumann lives in Canton de Hatley, Québec, Canada. Her work combines digital and traditional methods in sculpture, using locally found or grown materials, and participatory art projects that seek collaboration with materials, places, and people. She holds a B.A. in Fine Arts from Bishop's University and an M.F.A. in Sculpture/Installation/New Media from Alanus University in Germany. Regine's former work has been included in national and international sculpture exhibitions. In recent years she has participated in several artist residencies in Japan, Taiwan, Finland, and Germany and teaches currently fibre art and papermaking at Bishop's University.

Artist Statement:

In my work, I explore the potential of repurposed and organic materials in sculptures, installations, and collaborations. Combining digital technologies such as laser cutting and CNC milling with techniques used in traditional sculpture, papermaking, and ecological architecture, I explore new possibilities for forms achieved through stacking layers of materials, accumulation, or concretion (solidification of form, something that has grown over time). In these works, inspired by processes in nature, I explore open spaces, movement, and continuous surface, as well as the relationship between internal and external form. This research is extended through a collaborative art practice that aims to create social-ecological awareness and action to promote environmental restoration and community revitalisation. I explore the role of art and the artist in developing sustainable communities and environments through the implementation of participatory and site-responsive art projects. Through actions, workshops, and conversations, I invite people to participate in the artistic process and to ask questions about human nature, culture, and the interactions that sustain people and their environments.