Hannah Lamar Simmons conducts an ongoing investigation of contemporary storytelling; she records her findings in repurposed newspaper to create drawing, installation, sculpture and performance artworks. Her works involve hand-on engagement with The Wallstreet Journal and The New York Times, as she portrays a visual narrative representing human interaction. Stitching together sheets of newspaper, embellishing the front page, concealing or revealing portions of text—these processes mimic past and current digestion of information.

In the newspaper, Simmons finds a paradigm of hopeless yet dedicated dogmatism; she pushes this point through the study of media, specifically the physicality of print. A struggle between ideology and pragmatic approach arises. In turn, Simmons constructs forms that benefit from interaction. Rather than strive for static imagery, Simmons embraces the malleability of her work and celebrates ephemera. Playful choice and use of medium alludes to a larger motif, acceptance of uncontrollable ends.

After growing up in Knoxville, TN, Simmons lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, and is a member of the Fowler Arts Collective. She received a BFA with honors from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, in 2009. The same year, Simmons participated in a workshop with Ann Hamilton and Michael Mercil; her research led to the Hamilton’s Stylus project at the St. Louis Pulitzer Foundation. In 2010, Hannah was a resident artist at The Art Student’s League of New York. There she met Australian artist Rebecca Kinsey. Simmons and Kinsey first collaborated as paperJAM, which was on view at the New Museum’s 2011 Festival of Ideas for the New City. They have continued to further develop an artistic relationship.

Simmons has exhibited work in Chapel Hill, NC, Atlanta, GA; St. Louis, MO; Shelburne Falls, MA; New York, NY, Panajachel, Guatemala, and; Buenos Aires, Argentina.