Weeds to Paper

'Weeds to Paper' is a collaborative project initiated by papermaker Zela Bissett with Butchulla Traditional Custodians and volunteers.

Weeds are just plants growing in the wrong place.

Weeds to Paper is a collaborative project initiated by papermaker Zela Bissett with Butchulla Traditional Custodians and volunteers working in forest rehabilitation. Using plant matter as a sustainable form of creative expression, this exhibition suggests a new way of regarding weeds —as a resource rather than a nuisance. Through a process of chopping, cooking and blending, the pest or waste plants are converted into a pulp from which sheets of paper can be extracted using a process called couching. Works in this exhibition use handmade papers to create collage, linocuts and three-dimensional casting.

Together this group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous creatives have developed community of skill-sharing and knowledge exchange, built on a foundation of caring for Country.

Partners: FIDO - the watchdog of K’gari, Butchulla Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) and Butchulla Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (BNTAC).

Image courtesy of Zela Bissett.