Nicole

Beno

Nicole Beno’s collages are known for their inventive use of unconventional materials, ranging from orchid petals and jello to office supplies and even moldy strawberries, which she transforms to emphasize their aesthetic qualities. Through digital manipulation, she distorts, cuts, and collages these elements into a new visual language, blending digital and analog processes—working between the computer and the hand. Her work fosters a nuanced dialogue between nature and technology, challenging traditional perceptions of collage-making.

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For me, I love the process of remixing found materials and giving them new meaning and context through the process of collage. I have a huge online archive of found objects, materials, textures, paper cut-outs that I'm constantly adding to. I'm often going back to this collection and re-using and combining materials in new ways. I think what I enjoy the most about this remixing is how I can create new worlds with existing content, and creating this moment for the viewer where the artwork exists somewhere between reality and fiction.

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I work between analog and digital processes, often moving between physically collaging materials together in my studio, scanning them, digitally assembling, manipulating in Photoshop, printing, and remixing the artwork all over again. It’s a constant loop of going back and fourth between the computer and the hand until I’m satisfied with the final result, but it’s sometimes hard to know when to stop, and it can go on forever. I try to resist the flatness of the computer, and I’m interested in how I can get the feeling on my hand and body into my digital work.

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I’m always collecting objects and materials that catch my eye, whether it’s things I find on the street, garbage, old books and magazines, and textures. I take lot’s of photos when I go on walks and capture details of sites that spark a certain curiosity. it’s usually nothing interesting though, sometimes it’s just the way the paint texture is coming off of a wall, or the colour combination of a faded sign. This all becomes part of my large archive of images, things that get used for future projects (or not) or just to capture a moment in time.

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Nicole Beno, a Slovak-Canadian artist and designer, explores the intersection of technology and the natural world through inventive material use, including orchid petals, jello, office supplies, and moldy strawberries. By digitally manipulating these elements, she distorts, cuts, and collages them, creating a unique blend of digital and analog art that seamlessly merges computer techniques with handcrafted aesthetics.

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