Paper collage, 11 x 18 cm
Sonia Boué's work navigates the metaphoric territories of home and domesticity as they relate to the experiences of exile and displacement. This exploration, often autobiographical, draws on both historical and contemporary narratives. Tackling complex themes such as objecthood, identity, and spatiality, her practice is underpinned by an interest in family archives, the concept of material memory, and the themes of forced migration and inherited trauma.
Paper collage, 9.5 x 14 cm
"I’m an analogue collagist and I also have a multiform visual arts practice. I mainly work on a small scale, but I’ve also combined collage with performances in my studio, both as a live event and in film. For these events I created a collage installation on my studio wall. Hybridity is in my DNA and I love to work across forms to arrive at something new. I’m curious and experimental — a playful spirit often infects my work."
Paper collage, 11 x 18 cm
"A family history of forced migration and political exile is a significant influence and I inherited making as a form of creative resistance from my father. He practiced dramaturgy and was an exponent of exile theater, but he was an extraordinarily visual playwright. For me, collage is emblematic of assembling meaning from fragments which can also be said of the exile experience. Sensory fragmentation can be articulated through collage, and this is compelling to me as a neurodivergent artist. Thematically speaking, my work is often autobiographical in origin. I find that collage also allows for a restless mind to be an asset.
As a child I was often bored by ‘culture’ and I didn’t know my luck in being ‘dragged’ around the chateaus, museums and galleries of France, en route from England to Spain. Despite my early reluctance these experiences have been deeply informative. Our family had been split by the Spanish Civil War, and I spent my childhood shuttling between Birmingham (England) and Barcelona. The imprints of Barcelona’s iconic panot paving stones and monuments are in my soul. Barcelona was my second home and it was a terrific contrast to my school days in post-industrial Birmingham. I often felt dislocated and in-between, and this is also how I view collage. Collage is a liminal form which offers a language for self-translation across many divides."
Paper collage, 9.5 x 14 cm
Paper collage, 11 x 18 cm
"I’m something of a chameleon, and so responsive to images, sources and materials that my collages often vary in style. It’s as if I don’t do the work but rather that the work makes me. The quality of paper is extremely important to me, and I have to love the paper and also the print of an image source for a collage to flow. How well the paper adheres to the substrate is everything. I recently worked with some vintage papers which seemed to melt into the substrate like butter - that’s the dream! There is also a constant tussle between discipline and experimentation in my work. I’d rather go in a new direction than follow a linear path, but the common thread is a need for order and resolution. In arriving at this moment, documentation is extremely important to me. Viewing my work on a larger screen allows me to see the flaws. I adapt my work until my iMac says yes."
Paper collage, 8 x 10 cm
"My formal education in the history of art brings an understanding of narrative traditions and formal elements to my work. A professional training in art therapy taught me to work intuitively and allow process to lead. The interplay between intuitive play and formal considerations is a buzz. Since adopting collage, I’ve experimented with a wide variety of substrates. Currently I am working on stripped back vintage book covers - they have a wonderful solidity - and sourcing and preparing them has become an important part of my process. This ritual transports me to a zone where I can begin making.
I use contemporary sources, such as fashion magazines, to loosen-up. Vogue has wonderful paper and print quality, the photography and art design is incredible. Vintage sources are more precious to me and I've begun to source them online, as I don't have as much time to trawl thrift shops and markets as I used to. The imagery I choose to work with is often serendipitous, the juxtapositions are what count, but I am drawn to the domestic and have recently been working with vintage cookery manuals."
Paper collage, 10 x 13 in.
Sonia Boué was born in 1962 in England. She currently lives and works in Oxford, England.
For Your Viewing Pleasure
Patrick Hamilton is passionately dedicated to investigating and interpreting the myths and suppositions that form the public image of Chile. His work aims to uncover the narratives suppressed by the political, economic, and cultural establishment, yet have managed to endure, passed down from generation to generation. In his other projects, Hamilton's focus expands to include the analysis of "development and speculation" phenomena in urban areas, and delving into certain historical myths associated with Chile in recent decades.
Nigel Grimmer is a mixed media artist who is deeply engrossed in exploring the language of photographic portraiture. Historically, their investigation has been concentrated on domestic photography, with a particular emphasis on family albums. Recently, however, they have shifted their attention towards the study of self-portraits, especially those produced for use on social media platforms like dating apps and Instagram stories.
In textile works saturated with Internet-era iconography, Qualeasha Wood creates a bridge between craft and digital art. Her narrative tapestries, inspired by family history and a chance encounter with Faith Ringgold during her undergraduate years at the Rhode Island School of Design, are woven translations of Photoshop compositions, often foregrounding the artist’s own image.
Born in 1950, Arnaud Labelle-Rojoux is a French artist, essay writer and historian. In a humorous manner, his work explores art and its boundaries, through an absurd and poetic note, with childish freedom. One can perceive the influence of artists like Marcel Duchamp, Robert Rauschenberg, Allan Kaprow and a certain interest in the Fluxus movement.
Paige K. B. (b. 1988, Los Angeles) is an artist, writer, and editor who lives and works in New York. Recent exhibitions include a solo project at Lubov, a group exhibition at Theta, and an installation at Canal Street Research Association that developed into a collaboration with Shanzhai Lyric at MoMA PS1 for “Greater New York” (2021–22). Her writing has appeared across numerous publications for nearly a decade—including Frieze, Viscose, Spike, and Artforum—and her first book, a monographic essay on the art of Suellen Rocca, was published by Matthew Marks this year.
Out and About
What to watch, read, and experience, as curated by the Collé team.
A Brief History of John Baldessari
The epic life of a world-class artist, jammed into six minutes narrated by Tom Waits and commissioned by LACMA for their first annual "Art + Film Gala" honoring John Baldessari and Clint Eastwood.
Ruth van Beek – The Oldest Thing
In Ruth van Beek’s new book The Oldest Thing it is ordinary objects that take on a body and life of their own. With a practice that is deeply interwoven into her everyday experience, Van Beek looks inwards at how her vast archive works. In doing so, she explores the thin borders between studio and domestic life, the repetition of daily tasks and the origins of her interests in manuals and household books, tracing them all the way back to her mother’s influence. The book features numerous collages, archival images, and paintings in a dazzling show of roughly 250 double spreads.
The Amen Experience
"The Amen Experience is a powerhouse of heavy rhythm, funk, and breaks from the farthest edges of braindance."
_ Igloo Magazine
Released March 1, 2023
Art by Vesna Vrdoljak
