Wivenhoe Bookshop Magazine & Newsletter | Thursday 28 March 2024

September 2017 – Alison Stockmarr

Alison Stockmarr’s ‘Face Books’

As a materials-led artist, Alison Stockmarr is drawn to scrap and found objects.
Described as a “latter-day borrower” her work has an empathy for storytelling and recycling.

‘Treasure hunting’ is very much a part of the alchemical process. This, coupled with her deft abilities at re-appropriation, is at the heart of her work. Lost and overlooked objects are put under scrutiny, distilled into scenarios that allude to the past, with a playful nod to the present. Seemingly worthless finds are reworked breathing a new beauty back into them.

Currently she creates Face Books, a collection of work poking fun at Facebook. By matching old photographs with suitably titled books, profiles are constructed, creating a library of invented friends of yesteryear. Apertures are cut into books with photos and ephemera collaged within their pages. Narratives are composed to complete the picture!

These assemblages of everyday archaeologies afford the viewer glimpses of stories or notions, offering an alternative perspective on social media.

Alison’s Face Books will be on show for the month of September.