We’re excited to delve into a variety of collage projects from our Official POP Community. Collage is a method of art-making that involves sticking and combining various different materials onto a singular backing. Our members have used the technique in both traditional analogue and contemporary digital ways, using everything from misprints and offcuts to found objects to create new and unique pieces. Check out the projects below:
Melissa North: Women In Electronic Music
Women In Electronic Music is a personal project from Melissa North that uses analogue collage and animation to tell the story of the pioneering women behind the development of electronic music. Heavily inspired by the documentary film Sisters With Transistors, each animation in the series pays homage to a single pioneering woman and is presented with an accompanying record sleeve. The highlighted pieces in this article spotlight Delia Derbyshire and Pauline Oliveros. For both pieces Melissa combined monoprints, hand rendered type, and collage elements to reflect each musician’s analogue approach to production. These were composed digitally before being animated.
The full animations can be viewed here.
melissa-north.com
Laura Obon: Digital Collages
Working intuitively with abstract shapes, Laura Obon’s collages explore the connection between art and therapy. She tells us; “When creating a collage, I don’t have a preconceived idea of the final result. Only at the end can I visually assess the emotions I have been dealing with while cutting, sticking, and overlapping geometric shapes.” During the pandemic, Laura started making digital collages. Following the same method as her analogue pieces, she begins with a background colour and plays with shapes until a composition emerges. “Collage is a medium that allows me to work freely with endless possibilities,” says the artist.
Angus Vasili: The Edges of Print
This series of works by Angus Vasili was created using old screenprints and misprints. Originally inspired by urban decay, particularly decay in posters and billboards, the series has developed into abstracts that reference nature. The forms in Angus’ work empower the audience to create their own definitions and experiences. The works highlight how we view neglected spaces in the urban landscape, and the importance of finding the right balance between deconstruction and reconstruction. Angus reflects upon this by exploring the conflict between the two, showcasing the hidden beauty that can be found in decay. He states; “By ripping things apart, it pushes the boundaries of print and my practice, encouraging more process-driven work, facilitating happy accidents and allowing the subconscious to be the driving force behind the art.”
Sofya Volfkovich: The Bird Will Stay
The Bird Will Stay is a 3D collage/monoprint on a piece of found plywood by Sofya Volfkovich. The piece became one of the first in her Dream Geography series. Sofya printed the sky, then printed and cut the mountains on corrugated cardboard, before adding the garden and characters; some printed and cut, some cut from National Geographic or scrapbook papers. She comments; “This collage is about happiness that comes from doing beautiful things – might sound naïve, but sometimes really works.”
Mallory Sherman: Transformative Collages
These three artworks by Mallory Sherman delicately explore the theme of transformation and the journey through major life changes. Each artwork began as a physical drawing, created with paint sticks, capturing the raw and authentic emotions of the initial transition. This physical foundation was then transformed through digital editing, creating a collage that combines the tangible and the digital, much like the journey from the old self to new. By reflecting on their own journeys, viewers are invited to see transitions not as abrupt endings but as interconnected moments, each contributing to their evolving narrative.
Peta Verkade: Risograph Collage Landscapes
Collage Landscapes is an ongoing exploration and creative playground that transforms vintage American postcards into vibrant Risograph collages. Petra sourced postcards from the internet and vintage bookstores, combining various images to form unique landscapes. The designs are then printed using a Risograph printer, allowing lots of opportunities to experiment with different colours and layers within each design. Petra describes; “The project was born out of a desire to create more collage work and give new life to existing images while turning it to my own style.”
Wen Ching Yiu: Tuen Mun Imaginations
This collage project from Wen Ching Yiu is inspired by her home and surroundings in Hong Kong. Collecting diverse image fragments from the community; such as minibus stop stand, stores, signs, and cats, the artist reimagines her impressions of home, reconstructing them into experimental collage pieces.
Uli Jaeger: Collage Works
Uli Jaeger’s work explores the liminal spaces where art and play meet within the context of the everyday. Their starting point is usually a print, whether an etching, monoprint, or monotype. Uli states; “At first glance, it appears to be complete. But living with it for a while, it invites to play: can I extend its edge with an off-cut I have kept on my desk? Are there any bits and pieces that complement or contrast a certain shape or colour? It is a playful toing and froing, sometimes taking a long time, sometimes happening in a moment.”
Jaco Putker: Collage Etchings
Jaco Putker used to work in a secondhand bookstore where he began collecting illustrations and photos from old books. Finding them thrilling, he started scanning them into his computer. At the time, he was already using Photoshop to make sketches intended for paintings, and soon incorporated these collected images into the sketches. As these compositions became more and more elaborate, Jaco looked for other ways to bring his digital collages into the real world. He then found the photopolymer etching technique; a way to transfer images unto a polymer coated surface using UV light. The plate can then be inked up and printed like a regular etching plate.
Cally Conway: All In The Cosmos
All In The Cosmos originated when Cally was experimenting with paste paper, a historical technique of mixing flour with paint to created textural marks on paper. She decided to combine this with cut outs from her linocuts (which was also a good way to use up slight misprints). Created around the time of Samhain, Cally aimed to make a collage to celebrate this important time in the wheel of the year. She began cutting out marigolds and calendula flowers which are often used in altars at Samhain. The pomegranate alludes to Persephone’s time in the underworld, and moths are associated with the night. The hand of Lilith, again associated with the underworld, joined the collection, along with an array of swirling comets up above. The piece represents the joining of two worlds, all contained in the great cosmos.
3Clouds Studio | Carissa Ferdinand: Analogue Collages
These analogue collages represent Carissa’s first works as an artist, completed in 2021. They were all made using images from recycled magazines through a process of self exploration and expression, rather than for any cohesive project or collection. Carissa tells us; “I enjoy the juxtaposition of calm and serenity with the bold colours, bizarre elements, and chaos sometimes inherent to collage.” She also works in digital collage, but finds analogue more satisfying as it allows her to “cut, tear, break down, destroy materials before building something beautiful with the pieces”.
Emily Pallett: Hidden Hands
Emily Pallet’s collages explore how language has evolved from the written to the printed word by featuring Medieval and Victorian elements in a contemporary manner. She uses letterpress printing, image transfer, and hand drawings stitched together to embody the tactile act of creating manuscripts and books.
Enkel Art Studio: Monoprint Collages
Marijn and Esther from Enkel Art Studio use the remains of their unique monoprinting process to make little colour bomb collages. The duo comment; “The paper has great structures and textures. Mixing and matching colours is such an inspiring process, we decided to share this joy and offer collage workshops as well.” The small artwork is made complete with a coloured passe-partout and frame in custom Enkel Art Studio colours.
Check out more awesome work by our community and apply to become a Verified POP Member too at www.members.peopleofprint.com.
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