Connective Tissue 'The Shoulder'

  by Lisa Nillson

Lisa Nilsson was born in 1963 in Massachusetts, US. In 1985 she graduated on her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Rhode Island School of Design. She practiced several forms of art before she started practicing quilling works of the human body. The common thread among her art is the attraction to the intricate, multifaceted, complex, detailed and time consuming works.

The work you see below is made of Japanese mulberry paper and the gilded edges of old books. They are constructed by a technique called quilling or paper filigree. Quilling or paper filigree is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs. During the Renaissance, French and Italian nuns and monks used quilling to decorate book covers and religious items. It takes Nilsson around two months to complete a work.

In an interview with Installation magazine on ther series "Connective Tissue", Nilsson said:

"Attention to detail and careful observation are, for me, a means of practicing devotion, a practice common to the scientists and makers of religious art that I admire. I am inspired, aesthetically, by scientific imagery and objects. My approach to my work is “play-scientific.” I use tweezers and scalpels and pretend I’m a surgeon from time to time, but without any of the intense responsibility of the real thing, for which I would be decidedly ill-suited."

In 2012 she had to honors to speak at a TEDMED conference.

TEDMED Q&A with Lisa Nilsson

Connective tissue 'The Shoulder'
(Image by: Lisa Nilsson)