A Glue Stick Alone Wasn’t Going to Cut It

Writing has never been my strong suit. I can visualise how I want it to be written. Yet, when it comes to putting it on a page, I falter. I would much rather talk about my work in person. However, since I am not there with you to explain in person. I must endeavour to write about my thought process in a clear comprehensive way. As I write this, I think about how I must challenge myself to do it. I see a parallel as I am constantly looking for new ways to challenge myself within my art practice. How can I take what I have learned and push it further?

I have set myself the challenge of moving my collage work away from the page and towards a more sculptural direction. I began by exploring the possibility of combing imagery with fabrics and readymade objects. Here I took inspiration from dadaism, repurposing items such as old clothes, an old set of broken wooden drawers, wooden panelling bottle caps, pencil shavings, a broken mirror etc. This highlights western capitalisms obsession with the everchanging New. Which advertisers have decreed as the standard for western society that we must obtain to have successful, comfortable fulfilling and lives.

“A glue stick alone wasn’t going to cut it.”

With the inclusion of these new materials, I had to find a new strategy of combining them together. A glue stick alone wasn’t going to cut it. This was done by two very juxtaposed methods. The meticulous precision of sewing and the immediate abruptness of stapling. I love how both methods help highlight the tactile handmade aspect of my collages that is central to my art practice. The inclusion of text is a used to subvert the normative language of advertising, which is so often perceived as reality. This allows the audience reflect on how the persuasive language used impacts them and the choices they make?

When it came to the style of the work, I took inspiration from my surroundings. Just down the street from my studio there are a series of abandoned billboards that have been abandoned. What drew me to them was that over time, the more weathered they became, the various layers of previous advertisements began to come though and then gradually fade over time. With this I experimented with the concept building up layers with images, paints, automatism mark making, over and over again. To then go back and scrape and tear sections away. This adds a weathered and decaying feel to the work.