5 Reasons I Love Collage

Ongoing Collage Project

A few weeks ago, I found a New Zealand-made graphite-coloured wool-and-silk coat at a second-hand clothing shop in Christchurch. There was that moment of recognition because I’d found exactly what I hadn’t known I was looking for.

I browse second-hand bookshops for magazines with the same intention I bring to clothing racks, knowing that along with the unremarkable finds, there will also be treasure. I get that same rush in my studio when a scrap of paper finds its place in one of my collages. Second-hand shopping and collage-making surprise with extraordinary discoveries hidden in plain sight.

I work across multiple mediums, and collage has emerged as a cornerstone in my practice. Here’s why this deceptively simple medium continues to challenge and inspire me, and why it might transform your creative journey too.

1.      The Thrill of Discovery

Collage rewards the curious.

Uncovering collage materials is integral to the creative process. Like hunting through vintage clothing racks, sourcing imagery requires patience and intuition. My studio staples include National Geographic landscapes, Vogue editorials, Country Living’s domestic ‘dream’ interiors, and trade magazines aimed at hairstylists and optometrists.

Gathering materials is part of the creative process. I consider each magazine page until I have accumulated a pile of materials that might contribute to a finished piece. Sometimes, the search brings nothing. It’s the practice of collage combined with the element of chance that makes the process so engaging.

2.      Visual Language for Complex Emotion

Collage translates ideas and memory into form.

Several years ago, during a period of personal upheaval, I turned to collage. What began as an intuitive experiment evolved into Household Scenes, a ten-piece series that explored the domestic space through constructed papery worlds. Collage allowed me to process emotions by reconstructing and layering images to create meaning that didn’t exist before.

A friend passed along a stack of hairstylist magazines featuring models with incredible hair. One woman became the foundation for a new work. I carefully cut around her silhouette and placed her in a new setting. To one side of her face, I added an apple and hands from a National Geographic magazine. In retrospect, I can see that this image is related to how I processed the information presented to me during a difficult time.

3.      Building Meaning Through Layered Storytelling

Each layer adds meaning.

Whether it’s texture from a couture gown, a desert landscape or text, these items carry an original meaning and take on new significance within a collage composition.

In one work, I combined a National Geographic landscape of hills and tussock grass, two doors from an interior magazine, figures from a fashion spread, and houseplants from Country Living. What began as separate images became a story about boundaries and relationships.

I view life as a collage, a collection of fragments that create an accumulation of memories and associations. The layered approach of collage mirrors lived experience.

4.      Low-Cost, High Reward

Intuition beats perfection.

Working with found materials removes some of the pressure that can paralyse creative exploration. Sometimes, I cut images precisely. At other times, I tear them deliberately. Torn edges aren’t flaws. Mistakes become opportunities.

I once accidentally tore the face of a fashion model whose image I’d been saving for weeks. Frustration gave way to the realisation that the piece could be stronger. I found a fragment of green glass texture whose pink reflection echoed the woman’s dress and made the substitution. This unplanned direction completely transformed the work’s meaning, taking it somewhere I could never have contemplated with careful planning. With collage, mistakes become doorways to unexpected possibilities.

5.      An Accessible Art Form

An invitation to create.

Whether you’re working with a modest budget or sourcing materials from your recycling bin, collage delivers surprising results. Simple techniques can shift meaning dramatically. Cut out an existing window and insert a forest scene, and an architectural detail becomes a portal.

The barriers to making collage are virtually non-existent, and the creative possibilities are endless. All you need are scissors, adhesive and imagery.

Coming in July: My essay “Dog Days” will appear in Strong Words Volume 4 (Otago University Press). (Content warning: animal violence)