Accidental Collage

Accidental Collage is a community-based curatorial initiative in which followers endeavor to identify instances of "collage" within urban environments. Frequently encountered during daily commutes, decaying and stratified posters affixed to public thoroughfares resemble forms of decollage. These compositions, formed from layered advertisements that have been weathered and torn, generate unexpected and often serendipitous juxtapositions beyond any premeditated intent.

In relation to the accidental nature of collage, I find it fascinating that unintentional factors can have such effecting outcomes. Wind and rain tear sections asunder ripping through from one billboard to another while drunks idle at loose corners eventually pealing off theatre posters to combine with the previous months gig poster leaving an honest and beautiful result.

Since starting to search for accidental pieces of collage it has changed my view of collage, of course people will argue that these accidents could be done by anyone or anything but its the finding, the capturing and, eventually, the appreciation of them that has enhanced my love of collage. Accidental Collages have extended my love of collage from being an artwork chained to white cube gallery walls and expensive coffee table books to something that is always around the next corner, if you have nothing, you could still find one, and I think this is a beautiful realization to have.

Accidental Collage

I felt like I always saw accidental collages whenever we were traveling to go an exhibit/run workshops with DR.ME so it kind of felt inevitable that I would start documenting these things especially as we were starting to go to more and more different countries. Then the pandemic happened and all travel stopped for everyone. This kind of made the project different, I think initially I envisaged it would just be accidental collages that I found in the wild but it kind of became a collaborative project with people from all over the world sending me images of film posters torn through on the subway in New York one day to fashion billboards in Paris the next.

It’s been fun and I’ve made kind of internet penpal friends with people who have a similar eye for them in the wild like Hisham Akira Bharoocha, and Sarah Boris who are regular contributors. I think I’m drawn to the accidental collages because they are temporary and only last a few days until whoever owns the billboard covers over them with a new advert/poster. I also love that they turn the world into a huge free public art gallery. As I write this there are two large billboards that are a 30 second walk from our studio that are so beautiful they really could be hanging in an gallery. The fact that they’re made in a hugely unintentionally collaborative way, from the collection of different images pasted on top of each other over time through to the weather/person paid to remove them strips one into another.

Accidental Collage

Accidental Collage is currently based in Manchester, UK.