Authors: Poornima M.L, Dr Vishweshwari Tiwari
Abstract: The contemporary art world increasingly recognizes materials not merely as passive carriers of artistic ideas but as active participants in the creation of meaning. Among these materials, paper occupies a unique position due to its accessibility, fragility, adaptability, and transformative potential. This research investigates paper as both a medium and a metaphor through a practice-based approach that explores the relationship between material transformation and artistic identity. By employing experimental techniques such as tearing, folding, layering, burning, stitching, and reconstruction, the study examines how paper transcends its traditional role as a support surface and becomes a dynamic artistic medium. The research argues that artistic knowledge emerges through direct engagement with materials and that transformation functions as both a physical process and a conceptual framework. Through studio experimentation and critical reflection, paper is revealed as a site of memory, identity, vulnerability, resilience, and renewal. The study contributes to contemporary discussions on materiality, sustainability, and practice-based research by demonstrating how artistic identity develops through continuous interaction with material processes.
