The Cardboard Forest - My Degree Show

The forest is a place that is both mysterious and familiar, a place that could be anywhere, in our world or in another one. Since my research focused on the transformative power of fairy stories, I thought of how we have one foot in reality and one foot in the story world when we read them. We reflect on our experiences and dream of things that could be, which is why I decided on a forest for my degree show space.

I created this forest out of cardboard because it is material that is common, yet seldomly used by us humans. We, adults, are used to throwing it away, just like we throw stories away when we fail to see the use in them.

“The association of children and fairy-stories is an accident of our domestic history. Fairy-stories have in the modern lettered world been relegated to the “nursery” as shabby and old furniture is relegated to the play-room, primarily because the adults do not want it, and do not mind if it is misused.” (J. R. R Tolkien, 1947)