IAPMA Ruby Jubilee Collection - Smart Swarms

Fever of Rays

marine macroalgae paper, 9.5×15.5cm

The 'Ruby Jubilee Collection' celebrates the 40th anniversary of the International Association of Papermakers and Artists (IAPMA). This is an International Touring Exhibition which opens in Denmark in February 2026, and will be shown in Tasmania later in 2026 as part of ‘Paper on Skin'.

This global project brings together a curated series of postcards (mail art) created by IAPMA members from around the world, highlighting contemporary Paper Art and the artistry of handmade paper in a mail-art format. Members were invited to create a postcard on the theme ‘Smart Swarms’ — celebrating collective creativity, unity, and collaboration.

My contribution is a seaweed paper artwork titled Fever of Rays, which depicts a group of rays swimming through the water in unison. A fever is the collective noun for rays.

The Ruby Jubilee Collection will be exhibited at:

*IAPMA Paper Art Biennale 2026, Art Centre Silkeborg Bad, Denmark, February 7 - May 26

* Galerie Handwerk Munich, Germany, June 1 - July 31, as part of the exhibition "Papier perFormt"

*Devonport, Tasmania, August 14 - September 25, in collaboration with Paper on Skin™ and RANT Arts.

Following its exhibition tour, the postcard collection will be preserved as part of IAPMA’s physical archive, currently housed in Dresden, Germany.