“Collage and context” (Post 75)

I worked in China for two years and I tried to consolidate my experiences of the people and their world through my art projects. I struggled with a few expressive oil portraits (as I have mentioned in an earlier post) that would not dry because of the humidity and eventually I decided to photograph them; I wanted to create a new context for them with collage. What I enjoy about collage is the freedom it affords the artist; one is able to use all the random resources within one’s reach to create a new world. I could print out the photographs I took and incorporate them as “memory triggers”.

A little tip or two: use a sturdy board to work on and use spray adhesive. Creating a collage can be time consuming and one does not want to have an end result that warps or is marred by glue blotches. As you can see, I used the butterfly stickers one buys in stationery or toy stores. This was the first time I used the butterflies and it gave me a boost of happiness. If you feel a little “confused” and you have a smorgasbord of impressions you need to organize, choose collage. Collage therapy is a recognized way of dealing with issues of the heart.

I found a quote by Spalding Gray (American actor) which suits this post: “I say that I can’t make anything up. I think of myself as a collage artist. I’m cutting and pasting memories of my life. And I say, I have to live a life in order to tell a life. I would prefer to tell it because telling you’re always in control, you’re like God.”