This fully illustrated catalogue includes documentation of the installation and stills from Cattaneo’s video work. Consisting of sculpture and video pieces, the exhibition was characterised by a formal modesty and an economy of means, and yet the overall effect conveyed a strong sense of wonder.

Made from everyday materials such as wood, felt, cardboard and adhesive tape, Cattaneo’s sculptural works display a hobbyist aesthetic and suggest spontaneous invention, an enthusiasm for ‘do-it-yourself’ construction that overrides fine finishing and precision.

These sculptures are direct responses to their environments, makeshift structures spring from walls, floors and ceilings, as if to suggest an organic opportunity, a sort of growth within available space. Sculptures involving pieces of roughly cut cardboard were arranged in a skilful alternation of solids and voids.

Cattaneo’s videos offer the same lightness of touch and approach. Little epiphanies, they capture moments that have a transformative effect. Thirteen untitled pieces from 2005 are short, funny, touching vignettes that reveal the artist’s unique apprehension of the object world.

Cattaneo manipulates her subject matter by using simple techniques and standard technological functions, such as the addition of a soundtrack, to create engaging narratives.

Published alongside the first solo exhibition in the UK of work by Italian artist Alice Cattaneo at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, November 2007 – January 2008.