Cast Paper

In the early 90’s, Louise began to develop a unique paper casting process. This method allowed her to create ‘face prints’ or ‘life masks’ of her selected subjects, and then shrink those casts. In some of her most memorable works, Louise would arrange and install hundreds of these cast heads together in what were referred to as Congregations.

As Louise said, “I have cast the faces of hundreds of individuals…As (the heads) decrease in size, their connection to the original fades – they are not portraits – yet they could not exist without the original life mask. My work thus maintains the unique qualities and emotional depth of the individual, while showing the commonality among diverse cultures.”