10
Windows onto the Infinite
Part of the reason for the segmental construction of these pictures and their dis­
rupted surfaces is a result of Margot’s experience of using discarded packaging 
as art material. This began by chance and necessity, but quickly grew into a seri­
ous part of her creative process. As she explains: 
In 2016, I was at a festival. There were few people and I was bored. I had forgotten my 
drawing pad, so I went into the bins to look for a medium. I found a cigarette packet, 
which I took, opened out and drew on. I make several of these pieces and placed them side 
by side. I quickly realise that I could assemble them and create a much larger surface than 
the original but still in repetition! I decided to assemble packaging of the same size and in 
this way make larger drawings, since I appreciate large surfaces. I did several drawings in 
this way. I am motivated by the change of pace and the research. Through drawing on 
packaging, I realised that each item has a skeleton that is in its folds. Astonished at this 
observation I decided to cut them up, resulting in shapes I could sort approximately by re­
semblance. My first rule was always to cut up packaging along the folds. In this way re­
striction becomes a force. The elements were then arranged together on a sheet of paper 70 
x 50 cm. Over time I realised that this was the best format for this particular series. The 
balance was good. Each piece of paper had its purpose and should be in such and such a 
place. It’s like construction workers. Each stone has its purpose and the same goes for 
sheets of paper. Construction is determined by rules, which in this case depends on each 
piece being cut from the folds. 
This methodology was therefore in part a way of producing larger works from 
smaller elements and of introducing rules of construction that were also subject 
to the laws of chance. It was also a way of extending the life of discarded objects 
and incorporating the echoes of their use history into her work: “I really liked 
this medium, which I call ‘poor paper’. It’s a way of enhancing something des­
tined for the bin.” 
The figurative elements in Margot’s works are often recognisable as schematic 
faces or human figures. In The Matron, for example, the dominant form consists 
of a schematic, fecund figure that is part-human and part-botanical, which en­
velops five or six similar figures. Ripples of these forms extending to the picture 
edge are also constructed largely from figurative devices. There are faces with 

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