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The very first major solo exhibition is a turning point for any artist, though when it comes to Caroline Jane Harris, an artist whose innate instinct for what’s in the detail continues to astonish us, it’s a natural progression. It just so happens that the unique complexities of the natural world are what drives Caroline to create her fascinating paper environs, configured through a highly specialised craft that hooked Harris a number of accolades during her rapid rise to prominence. Winner of the Chelsea Arts Club Trust Stan Smith Award, Harris, having already exhibited in the UK, Singapore, India and Switzerland is now taking up residency at London’s Scream Gallery, though this isn’t the first time Scream has acknowledged her impressive artistry. We made sure to catch up with Caroline during her first solo exhibition, Anatomy of the Arboreal, to discuss where her success has taken her thus far and what really goes into nurturing her kind of nature.
You were selected as a finalist for the Aesthetica Art Prize and presented by Matthew Williamson in a two-man show last year at Scream, what has changed since then?
It’s been very busy – as soon as I finished the work for the two-person show I began making work for my solo show which is currently on at Scream. I also got accepted onto a Masters in Fine Art, which I will start in September. I’ve just come back from an arty trip to Venice and am doing a residency in a Cypriot woodland this summer too, as well as thinking about new ideas.
How would you describe your work with one word?
Cut.
You draw on the complexities of nature in your work, but what is it about nature that you would describe as being complex?
Nature’s so complex in the way that it cannot be simply reduced into smaller parts as with a machine, each component is distinct from its parts and removing one would change the entire system. New properties and characteristics emerge from every level of integration, resulting in the array of patterns, shapes and colours we find in nature.
Being so, let’s say, finicky, does the somewhat onerous nature of your working process affect you in any way?
I actually find my work a pleasure to make – it’s constantly changing, challenging, satisfying, frustrating but ultimately rewarding. I’ve always been a patient person; it makes sense to me to spend a lot of time on something I’m deeply involved with.
Could you talk us through the process, the highs and lows, as it goes?
The process begins with manipulating the images which I took of trees, I enjoy the Photoshop stage although the process can be ouroboros in that every adjustment leads to a potential new piece and idea, I need to focus carefully on what I am after. It then gets sent off to my extremely competent printer at Photofusion who I’ve built a good relationship with over the years and finally I get to sit and cut. I enjoy watching the piece transform and seeing the change in the integrity of the paper as it becomes more fragile.
Am I right in saying that not one of your works is asymmetrical?
That is not entirely correct – the tree branches are digitally rendered symmetrical, however some of them have images of wood, which I found and scanned, superimposed over the top of them. When I cut the work out it is completely unsymmetrical as I am only human, the imbalance is very subtle and adds movement to the work I believe.
Do you think symmetry is beauty?
I think that human beings are programmed to register symmetry as beautiful as our faces and bodies physically are, as well as much of the nature around us. I think even aliens would be symmetrical for the practicality of balance.
While rather similar all of your works seem to have their own essentiality, how do you ensure that they do?
Each work is made from a different starting image of trees; I make decisions according to the negative space of the branches and the over-all composition. I overlay different images and utilize varying layering techniques to explore a different element in each piece.
Many of the technical processes behind your work are digital, how active is your involvement in this technique?
I am very interested in the digital although my technical knowledge is not as advanced as it could be (it’s hard to keep up). My boyfriend runs a gallery, which seeks to showcase this medium therefore I get to meet a lot of artists solely concerned with the digital which is very illuminating.
After all of the many “meditative” processes that corporealize your work are complete, how does it feel to see the final outcome come together?
I’ve never made or seen so many of my works together in one space before, it’s a bit overwhelming but also a great place to observe the dialogue between the works themselves and read them as a body of work rather than a group of islands.
Finally, on the subject of your new exhibition at Scream, Anatomy of the Aboreal, how would you say your “unconventional” experimentations with form are showcased most auspiciously in Scream’s environment?
I feel that Scream are great supporters but more importantly really understand my work and have chosen it as it aligns with their niche of skilled and visually dense artworks.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Scream London
Anatomy of the Arboreal showcases at Scream until August 2