Free Paper: Junk Mail Turned Art at Flatbed Press [Art Preview]

A flood of catalogs, coupons, fliers and credit card applications flow into mailboxes every day. Most of the junk mail winds up in the trash (or maybe the recycling bin) before the recipient even hazards a second glance. One Texas artist has repurposed the glut of mail she received over the course of a year to create Free Paper, an art exhibit with a message about forest destruction, wasteful excess and consumerism.

Annette Lawrence, a world-renowned artist and an assistant professor of painting and drawing at the School of Visual Arts at The University of North Texas, saved her junk mail for 395 days in order to collect the materials used in the pieces. She then painstakingly tore the paper (265 pounds worth) into thin strips and stacked them together on small platforms. The end result resembles miniature skyscrapers or geological cross sections.

In Free Paper, Lawrence explores her concerns about the extreme amount of paper used in the effort to advertise products and services through direct mail.
The exhibit was brought to Austin as a joint project between Austin Green Art, a group that raises awareness about environmental issues through creative programs and events, and nonprofit environmental organization Forest Ethics. The latter has launched a Do Not Mail Campaign to create a "do not mail" list, which allows individuals a simple way to stop receiving junk mail.

Free Paper is Lawrence's first solo show in Austin in about a decade. Sale of the work benefits Austin Green Art's mission.

Free Paper will be on display at Flatbed Press through February 6.