Books as Material, Memory, and Cultural Presence
My practice explores storytelling through the material forms that carry it. Handmade paper is at the heart of this work, not just as a surface for text, but as a collaborator in how stories are created, shared, and experienced.
For centuries, handmade paper has been used to record manuscripts, legal charters, religious texts, maps, and family records.
These objects were durable, fibrous, and resilient, designed to outlive individuals.
Across Africa, Asia, and Europe, handmade paper formed a lineage of long-lasting knowledge objects, carrying cultural memory across generations.
Today, this lineage informs my practice.
Machine paper records. Handmade paper remembers.
Books are never neutral. Paper, binding, texture, sequence, and wear all shape how stories are experienced.
Artist’s books: Form, material, and content merge; every mark and revision is part of the narrative.
Material archives: Physical objects preserve memory and presence beyond text alone.
History and culture books: Designed for shared spaces, and are meant to be revisited and experienced over time.
The research responds to pressing contemporary concerns: overproduction, disposable publishing, and the erosion of physical engagement with stories.
At a time when commercial handmade papermaking is recognised as critically endangered in parts of the UK, this research also considers how craft knowledge is sustained, shared, and carried forward.
By increasing public understanding of handmade paper and creating opportunities for learning and skills development, the work contributes to wider conversations about craft continuity, cultural memory, and material futures.
By testing handmade paper as a medium for small-scale, community-led publishing, I explore:
Sustainable alternatives to conventional printing.
Storytelling that slows down, encourages care, and builds connection.
Methods for collective authorship where stories are shaped by people and material.
This research examines how writers and readers interact with handmade paper, exploring its suitability for printing, readability, durability, and colour, while considering how it shapes creative practice and community storytelling.
Impact and Relevance Today
This research tests how handmade paper can shape collective storytelling in ways that are sustainable, inclusive, and culturally resonant.
By documenting methods, engaging writers and readers, and sharing findings through community-led formats, the research creates a model that others in publishing, education, and creative practice can adopt.
To demonstrate that alternative, slow, and material-focused approaches are viable and valued in contemporary storytelling, offering an example of how creative practice can respond to environmental, social, and cultural challenges today.
My Approach
Rather than producing a single finished book, this work tests:
Collaborative storybooks and multi-path narratives.
Material experimentation: fibre types, sheet weights, finishes.
Methods for sharing stories across communities, digitally and physically.
The aim is to understand what works, what changes are needed, and how handmade paper can serve as a sustainable, relational, and culturally meaningful format for contemporary storytelling.
Engage with this research
This project forms part of an ongoing enquiry into how handmade paper can support collective storytelling, sustainable publishing, and cultural memory.
If you are a writer, educator, artist, or cultural organisation interested in this research, or in exploring how these methods might be applied in your own work, I welcome contact to discuss collaboration, knowledge sharing, or future projects.
Contact Me Here
