The works in this exhibition have been produced over the past three years which is when I decided to revisit my skills in collage work that had surfaced many years prior to this in a culmination of only five works. It was through a personal crisis that I developed a desire to utilise this multifaceted art form as a form of expression.
The techniques utilise in the creation of these works are mentally challenging, intellectually and culturally stimulating as well as being incredibly in practice and application.
The tool of my trade is a pair of manicure scissors; no computers are used in the production of these works. All cutting layering and pasting of these works are done by hand.
I may spend a great deal of time finding and collating the resource material for my works, with many themes already in the collection stage. Once I am satisfied that I have accumulated enough resource for a work I begin the first of two cutting stages involved in the layering and pasting to create the works. It is in this first stage that I mentally digest the imagery that I have to work with. During the days, weeks, sometimes months of cutting my mind is formulating a visual impression of the final work.
A great deal of time is then spent working with the cut out resource material, positioning and repositioning until a fine balance is created with the colour blending of the first cut, establishing the base layer of the image to then work from.
The second cut is where the detail becomes more intricate and the manicure scissors come into their own. Allowing me to create the depth and precision demonstrated in the final layering of these works.
The time it takes to create a work can vary from three months to three years to compile and complete.
