Split Ends
Sylvia Atwood and Ana Joyce
June 12 - July 10, 2026
ROY G BIV Gallery, Columbus, OH
A sheet of paper, like a layer of paint, is barely an object. Paper erases itself–a platform for a message or interaction, like the infinite frictionless plane on which a physics puzzle takes place. In a stack or accumulation, we plainly see paper’s cheeky third dimension.
Scientists use the relationship between two and three dimensions as a model to help us think about how we exist in relation to higher dimensions. I’m fascinated by the invisible forces that structure our life and physically envelop us all, such as time, gravity, or love.
When asking questions about our physical reality, we often turn to drawing—diagrams, maps, symbols, animations—as a mode of active processing and communicating. These stacks of paper continue my ongoing investigation into the surface as a site of interaction and synthesis. The surface, painted or otherwise, as an object built up through layers and time, offers an analogy to the construction of our lived experience. I want to fill it with more layers, more dimensions, more contradictions.
Globe
Loose leaf paper, pen, clear PVA glue
16” x 42”
2026
Weaver
Loose leaf paper, pen, clear PVA glue, oil pastel
10.5” x 8”
2026
$400
Slacker
Loose leaf paper, pen, clear PVA glue, oil stick, oil pastel, charcoal
10.5” x 8”
2026
Newark
Loose leaf paper, inkjet printed images, clear PVA glue, found objects, oil pastel, oil stick
8” x 10.5”
2026
Memo #1
Loose leaf paper, inkjet printed images, clear PVA glue, pins, oil pastel
6” x 9”
2026
Memo #2
Loose leaf paper, inkjet printed images, clear PVA glue, spiral binding
10 x 8”
2026
Fan
Loose leaf paper, inkjet printed images, clear PVA glue, steel pipe, metal base, hardware
26.5” x 26.5”
2026
Sticker
Loose leaf paper, pen, clear PVA glue, steel rod
45” x 12”
2026
Chickenfish
Loose leaf paper, inkjet printed images, clear PVA glue
16” x 18”
2026
Installation photography by Tristan Turner