A Simple Intrigue – turning the pages of recycled books into classic artwork!
Keri Muller started making artworks in 2011 by scavenging recycled books – cutting and gluing them into interesting artworks. Soon her hobby turned into a passion project. You can see her awesome creations at Simple Intrigue at the V&A Waterfront’s Watershed.
Tell us about your product. What makes it unique?
My artworks are made from old books that are salvaged from the recycling. I purchase these books via TEARS Charity shop. They receive huge amounts of donated books and ultimately can’t sell all them for various reasons. I like that I am recycling and supporting a charity at the same time.
I hope that my work allows a book the chance to tell another story, a story of reinvention, and will inspire others to use whatever they can get your hands on to build a future and a business. My use of recycled paper was driven by seeing the destruction of forests for the paper industry first-hand happening in Southern Africa.
How did you start the process of creating your artworks and your business?
I started making artworks in 2011 with whatever I could find that didn’t cost any money, as I didn’t have anything to put towards money to put into materials. This led me to scavenge books at the local Woodstock dump, and I would then cut and glue these into interesting artworks.
My work was well-received and I received good PR internationally, which sent a fair amount of business my way. I focus on commissions and selling pieces through other galleries and shops. Word-of-mouth has been how my business has grown steadily.
What inspires your work, and what influences your style?
Nature and the environment inspires me. We as humans continue to just take and take from the earth; we don’t adjust our habits, and just keep taking. Cape Town’s current water crisis is a perfect example – one day soon we are all going to be saying, “I can’t believe we were flushing our toilets with drinking water” (dams were on 17.4% on 28 July 2017).
I hope that my work inspires some reflection in people around how we consume finite resources and that we can actually reuse intelligently with minimal effort.
The natural world is so beautiful and I spend a lot of time outside gaining inspiration for what I create. I also work with a number of businesses in my production process who are all particularly skilled in their fields, and I learn something new from them all the time.
I immerse myself in other fields totally different to art and design, which helps me to keep creating. I’m currently studying towards a degree in social work and doing activations in food sustainability.
How did you get involved with The Watershed? Has this grown your business?
I applied for a stand in the Watershed in March 2015, and was offered a space sharing with another designer – Aaron Kearney. This suited me very well as I love to pool resources with other businesses in terms of staffing and having a fellow business owner to bounce ideas off. Collaboration in retail and exhibition has been a massive part of my business growth. Having the Watershed stand has been a good central space for people who know my work to come and see it, and, of course, for general sales to visiting tourists. It has grown the direct retail side of my business as it puts me directly in touch with buyers who may not know my work.
What: Simple Intrigue
Where: The Watershed, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Web: http://www.waterfront.co.za
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