The Shadows of Memory
Artist Paige Wilkinson uses natural materials to create ephemeral images that capture shadows and the feeling of watching them dance and warp as the light changes. Fascinated by light and shadow as they filter through leaves while walking nature trails, Wilkinson uses anthotype printing on handmade paper to capture the essence of these quiet moments. My process begins with what I call “shadow hunts”—walks where I photograph the way shadows stretch and warp as light shifts across the day. These images become the basis for prints made using natural emulsions such as butterfly pea flower, blueberries, or hibiscus brushed over paper I make myself from locally harvested fibers including sunflower, corn, pokeweed, cattail, daylily, and flax. The paper is then exposed to UV light: what the light touches fades like sun-bleaching, while what remains unexposed holds its color. The result is a soft, emotional image on deeply textured paper—quiet, like the walks that inspired it. Anthotypes, by nature, are somewhat impermanent works. These shadow images were revealed to me by light, exposed by light onto my paper, and may one day fade away from further light exposure. The substrate remains, available to be reclaimed for new work. In this way, anthotypes echo how memory functions: revealed through experience, shaped by time, soft around the edges, eventually fading—yet always leaving a meaningful trace.
Paige Wilkinson is a materials-minded artist exploring the intersection of glass art and handmade paper through her book arts practice. Her work investigates light’s transformative power to reveal hidden worlds, finding striking parallels between glass and paper when held to light—whether the dynamic interplay of transparency and opacity in glass, or the delicate constellation of fibers in paper. Her practice includes paper windows, glass books, and anthotype prints made with locally harvested materials. Wilkinson is a current MFA candidate at the University of Iowa’s Center for the Book, and she holds an MA in Library and Information Sciences. She works in collections care and conservation and lives in Solon, IA, with her partner and collaborator Dan, their three dogs, and many plants.
