Transitions Catalogue Digital Edition

Gates to a New World
Altered book pages
18cm x 260cm
2019
“Gates to a New World” is a book sculpture with scenes of travel and displacement
by sea, an actual phenomenon that is sadly present in the daily news and that
is shaping our way of conceiving the world. It is inspired by the visual language
of traditional votive pieces, and also by artworks that are iconic for their way
of representing universal feelings. Every page presents stories of suffering,
desperation, hope, and sweetness; the people depicted are made of maps, that
represent the places they are escaping from, as well as the promised lands they
are trying to reach. They are connected and related by the same waves that engulf
their bodies; the movement of the water is recreated by the reader every time the
pages of the book are opened and closed.
Linda Toigo’s material of choice is paper, a fragile yet extremely durable material.
With this media, she explores the field of book alteration using traditional, slow
paced and laborious techniques. She creates both small works and large scale
interventions with multiple layers of carved paper. In her paper cut illustrations,
she takes the inspiration from childhood memories, traditional storytelling, and
observation of the reality; Toigo creates three-dimensional scenes from sheets of
paper assembled together, that draw the viewer into a world full of hidden details
that is often fun, surreal and ironic.
Linda Toigo
Born in Italy, Linda Toigo graduated with a Master Degree in Architecture from
Politecnico di Milano in 2006; after working for three years as an urban planner,
she decided to change her scale of intervention and moved to London to study
Graphic Design at London College of Communication, UAL. There, she fed her
curiosity for book design and book structures, discovering and experimenting with
the physical qualities of paper. Toigo’s work has been shown in solo exhibitions
and touring group shows in Italy, UK, Spain, Taiwan, and the USA; Her paper cut
illustrations have recently been published in best-selling children’s novels.
www.lindatoigo.com