Paper Power

Paper Power is a site-specific installation of electrical conduits and fixtures made entirely out of white paper created by Lucas Artist Fellow Imin Yeh.

In 2011 the anti-immigration bill HB56 passed in the state of Alabama making proof of citizenship a condition for access to public utilities. Disturbed by the idea that electricity and water, two things that make a space habitable, could be denied to individuals merely because they lacked an arbitrary document, Yeh developed Paper Power. In this ongoing project, the artist focuses on the often overlooked and invisible hardware and infrastructure that make a space hospitable

The latest iteration of Paper Power includes hundreds of small sculptures, from conduits and their wiring, to switches, plugs, and cords, to infrastructural bolts and screws, and even the occasional sprout of Poison Oak, all located in one of Montalvo’s Cottages.

An interdisciplinary and project-based artist, Yeh often employs repetitive, labor intensive handcraft and mimicry as strategies to explore the invisible labor that lies behind everyday objects. She favors the medium of paper as it can be transformed from the commonplace into precious art object.

Paper Power was commissioned by the Lucas Artists Program at Montalvo Arts Center.

Viewing Hours:

• Friday, July 24, 6-8.30pm
• Thursday, July 30, 11-1pm
• Friday August 7, 11-1pm
• Friday, August 14, 11-1pm
• Thursday, August 20, 11-1pm
• Friday August 28, 11-1pm & 6-8:30pm (for Open Access)
• By appointment: contact Donna Conwell