TISSUE SERIES: Anatomical Cross-Sections in Paper

The pieces that comprise Lisa Nilsson’s “Tissue Series” are made of Japanese mulberry paper and the gilded edges of old books. They are constructed by a technique of rolling and shaping narrow strips of paper called quilling or paper filigree. Quilling was said to have been first practiced by Renaissance nuns and monks who made artistic use of the gilded edges of worn out bibles, and later by 18^th century ladies who made artistic use of lots of free time. Lisa finds quilling exquisitely satisfying for rendering the densely squished and lovely internal landscape of the human body in cross-section.

Photography by John Polak