IMPRESSIONS OF NATURE: PAPER AS MEMORY

07 Feb - 25 May 2026

When paper is created from other materials — worn textiles, handwritten pages or plant fibres — it retains something of its origins. These embedded histories remain visible or felt, forming a quiet continuity between past and present. Through the tactile and repetitive processes of papermaking — tearing, pulping and pressing — paper collects and carries stories not by overwriting them but by layering meaning.

The theme of IAPMA Paper Art Biennale 2026 invited artists to explore paper as a living palimpsest — a material that absorbs and preserves the layered traces of life.

The artists were invited to submit works that reveal how paper registers the passage of time and life. Whether through natural marks, human touch or material transformation, the artworks will reflect the deep connection between body, earth and memory. This exhibition highlights the interplay between ephemeral processes and enduring imprints — a space where life in all its forms leaves a trace.

Originally from the Greek palin (again) and psēstos (scraped), a palimpsest was a manuscript in which older writing was partially erased to make space for new text while remnants of the original remained. Today, the word refers more broadly to any surface or object that holds visible layers of change, memory or history.

In this way, paper becomes more than a surface for marks — it is a sensitive body that remembers. Each fold, crease and impression echo the gestures of both nature and human presence, transforming paper into a vessel of memory.

Represented artist: See here