Yearling Energy Reflection: A Response to Susan Ruptash's 2292

Photo by Pixel Heller

                                                                                                      

By Joshua Deneumoustier (He/Him)

Cradled among the exquisite works of the exhibit Washi Sisters: A journey, is Susan Ruptash's 2292, captivatingly suspended to the onlooking eyes of the Propellor Art Gallery visitor. I instantly gravitated toward this immaculately crafted artwork's ethereal hanging form. The suspension of it elevates the spectacle of such a buoyant piece, illustrating the effects of wind, shadow, and light against its paper segments as they hang between the floor and ceiling. At 74" x 18" x 18", the scale of 2292 offers a great visual comparison to the viewer as they observe the modest size of the construction. From first glance the viewer gets a sense of the heritage present within every fibre of the piece, a first taste of the material that resonates through an artwork which wholly captivates the traditional quality of its make.

While 2292 stands out boldly from afar due to its size, the true success of its beauty is grasped in proximity. As I let my eyes linger, visually breaking up and reconstructing the piece one segment at a time, I felt the art unlock itself. Every disc of washi sings visually, unique like the fractals of a snowflake, and richly textured. The sea of these tiny textured landscapes asks the viewer to get lost within the pores and veins of every single segment, offering hundreds of hanging worlds to inhabit the mind. These discs transcend their form by coming together in a jellyfish-like cascade, appearing as a hanging multiverse of snow-laden tundra in swaying harmony. The craft present within the work is awe-inspiring and genuinely provokes the exhibit's theme, showcasing the material glory of Heritage Washi itself.

I had the privilege to hear Ruptash explain the origin of this work and the methodology she used in its creation. She joyfully shared her extensive knowledge of Heritage Washi when showcasing the meticulous care put into the sekishu mare and sekishu banshi materials. This gave marvelous insight into the development of an artwork handmade by someone whose dedication and love of the medium are reflected by every fibre of the construction.

Susan Ruptash, 2292, Sekishu Mare and Sekishu Banshi 

with linen thread, 74 x 18 x 18"

The most significant aspect of 2292 is its visual representation of a year; there are three hundred and sixty-five paper segments strung along the linen lines. Reflectively meditating on each segment reminds the viewer to behold the unique beauty every day holds, something that linear time-faring humans often forget to do. There's an intimacy to this idea of daily appreciation, which the pandemic effectively erased from many people's hearts. This narrative creates the perfect connectivity between artist, material, and idea, something that sparks even deeper questions about an artist's creative process.

I only briefly worked with washi during my post-secondary printmaking experience, but the quality of a woodblock print, once inked to this material, showcased the special nature of the medium to me through its textural richness. Seeing the creative possibilities of this medium through Ruptash’s work has increased my affection and enjoyment of washi itself. As I reflect on Ruptash’s 2292, there seems to be something inherently spiritual about the craft of creating and using such a historical art medium. Every slight calculated motion to create the paper into this texturally deep state is wrought by the endured painstaking planning of the artist. This act of calculative creation portrays the very nature of making as the spiritual process that it is, using the divine-human imagination and the physical toil of hand-crafting tradition to bring the artist’s ideas into material existence through the longing to see such visions become reality. Philosophically, I find this process of creating the most valuable part of being an artist, the moments where you transfer your energy into the work. During these moments, the artist’s hours of time and patience are concealed into a physical capsule, fossilizing creativity. 2292 is the artistic sum of this idea, a yearling reflection of time which visually delivers the tell-tale spark of the dedication and beauty of process that has been stored within the art as a creative inferno. There is a profound magmatic energy of hand-crafted material, slumbering in the beauty of Heritage Washi. It can be felt strongly within 2292, and within the work of other artists in Washi Sisters: A journey at Propellor Art Gallery.