Artist Rogan Brown studies the architecture of nature on a macro and microscopic level in order to create fantastical worlds in paper. Among his vast and varied sources of inspiration, Brown references everything from microbes and pathogens to human organs and geological structures. Extruding his creations from their one dimensional plane layer by layer, Brown becomes one part god the other part surgeon – first sketching on stacked sheets of trace, then hand or laser cutting each layer before floating one pristine sheet above the next using invisible foam spacers in between… often going back to finesse the details again and again. His choice of paper as medium was a deliberate one – intended to mirror both the fragility and durability of nature itself. And his selection of an icy white palette only serves to accentuate the organic nature of his forms as they seem to burst, crackle and squirm with life. Above – Magic Circle Variation 6, 2015.
Magic Circle Variation 5, Hand and laser cut, 100x100x20 cm, 2015
A fantastical world that references coral, bacteria, pathogens, diatoms and more.
Magic Circle Variation 5, Detail
Portal, Hand and laser cut paper, 78x76x10cm, 2015
Outbreak Detail, Hand cut paper, 2014
Inspired by the vast invisible colony of bacteria that lives in and on our bodies, Brown created this stunningly choreographed piece to play on viewers fears of pathogens and the microbiological world.
Vortex, Hand and laser cut paper, 2015
Cut Microbe, Hand cut paper, 112x90x20 cm, 2015
A hyper-real depction of a hybrid ecoli and salmonella bacterium that is over a million times larger than the real thing. Brown used his imagination to flesh out details that, even with the strongest of microscopes, remain cloaked in their minuteness.
Cut Microbe, Detail, Hand cut paper, 2015
Adding some creep to the crawl, the flagella (tentacle-like appendages) allow this bacteria to swim through the intestinal tract while the pilli (hiar-like structures) allow it to attach to its hoast. Cut Microbe took 4 months to complete.
Fallen Angel Wings, Hand cut paper, 73x54x7cm, 2014
At once sacred and profane – the flower-like form of Fallen Angel was inspired by the 18th century practice of fobidding young ladies from looking at botanical illustrations due to thier ‘pornographic’ depiction of plants reproductive organs.
Rogan Brown’s work will be on display in NYC as part of Context art fair, May 3-8, 2016.
