Nicollier Elisabeth, Atelier Art'ige

To print

Elisabeth Nicollier
Creator of plant-based paper and paper cutter
Rougemont

« Paper is a living material, which we make, which we cut, and through which we tell stories. »

About

A teacher by training, Elisabeth Nicollier has dedicated herself to papermaking for over twenty years. She discovered the art of plant-based papermaking in 2004, a turning point that led her to devote herself to this ancient craft. Living in a mountain village, she gathers plant fibers from the surrounding nature to nourish her work. Simultaneously, while living in the Pays-d'Enhaut region, she discovered paper cutting, which became a natural extension of her practice and allowed her to give another dimension to her work with paper.

« Each person develops their own cuisine; experience allows them to invent new recipes. »

Using plants she gathers from the surrounding nature, such as nettle, iris, or lily of the valley, she makes sheets of paper. She then uses these to create art books and contemporary grimoires, entirely handmade, conceived as objects of transmission. The making and cutting of the paper converse, balance, and respond to each other to give birth to works where paper is no longer merely a support, but also a language in its own right.