Finding Meaning Through Fragments
More about my analog collage collections, process & practice and inspiration
My work has always been rooted in curiosity and intuition.
I like exploring the relationship between humanity and the environment; the inner workings of our souls and minds in relation to the perceived outside world and the fragility, memory and longing connected to the human experience.
Through found imagery and the process of piecing together seemingly unconnected fragments, different mea
nings arise and unexpected connections are formed into my three different types of collage art: Portraits of Chaos; Dreamscapes and Echoes Within.
How it all started
What initially started as a means of creative freedom and expression during the months South Africa was under lockdown during the Covid-19 Pandemic, had quickly turned into a quiet practice of becoming and finding meaning. I had lost my teaching job and all prospects of performing and doing theatre work were lost. Busy with my BA Honours degree in Theory of Literature, I needed some sort of creative outlet. One day, while rummaging through my parents’ house hoping to find some sort of distraction from my studies and state of the world (and my mind), I came across a bunch of old National Geographic and Time magazines. I started flipping through them, reading old articles and being fascinated by the beautiful old photos within the pages. I really don’t know what had gotten into me, but before I knew it, I was cutting up these magazines and playing around with different layering techniques and there it was: a new type of creativity was unleashed from my inner state, and the flame of creation was set alight. I discovered I could manipulate the found imagery to create completely made-up worlds – worlds that had existed up and till then only in my dreams or written through poetry. Hence was born: the surreal landscapes I know call “Dreamscapes”. It is completely crazy to think that what started as something very accidental had turned into one of the fundamental aspects of my creative practice. I look back on this period of my life – so uncertain in so many ways – with fondness and appreciation; grateful that I found such an extraordinary medium to express myself through that also feeds into my writing and photographic practices.
Beyond my connection with nature and my fascination with humanity’s connection to each other, the earth and between our inner and outer worlds that reflects in my work, I’ve always been a lover of the surreal and absurdity of existence. I have a stubborn obsession with putting contrasting things together and making sense of “the non-sense” within existence. My ever-growing love for Camus, “Waiting for Godot”, books from Marquez, “Like Water for Chocolate”, “A Wild Sheep’s Chase” from Haruki Murakami surreal poetry techniques from the 1920s, Afrikaans poetry from Breyten Breytenbach, music from bands like Pink Floyd, and movies such as “The Fall” and Akira Kurosawa’s “Dreams” have (and continues to) play a very large role in how I see and make sense of the world around me and has become a clear guide for my analog collage art practice. (I have linked here an ever-growing list a few of my favourite inspirational works if you want to delve a little deeper into the wonderful and inspiring world of Surrealism.)
My Growing Collections
These works are surreal landscapes where memory and imagination blur, in
viting the viewer into worlds both familiar and strange. These collages unfold like visions half-remembered — landscapes that shift between the real and the imagined. Figures drift through altered horizons, where memory dissolves into dream and the ordinary bends toward the uncanny. Each work becomes a threshold, a place where inner worlds and outer terrains int
ertwine, inviting the viewer to wander through landscapes that feel at once familiar and impossible.
In this series, faces emerge from a storm of fragments — layered, dreamlike, and in constant flux. Each visage anchors the gaze, yet the surrounding chaos pulls it toward other selves, other stories. Identity here is both revealed and obscured, a constellation scattered across memory and imagination. These collages invite the viewer to linger in the noise, to trace the beauty hidden inside disorder, and to wander the restless landscapes of reflection and discovery.
Quietly unfolding moments capture presence and layered reflections. Figures emerge in quiet contemplation, poised in spaces that invite reflection and stillness. Each collage moves gently between form and intuition, exploring presence, identity, and the inner landscapes of thought. There is a meditative rhythm to the work, a space to linger and discover nuance in subtle gestures, textures, and layers.
Since starting my collage journey back in 2021, I have had the privilege to create my own catalogue of analog collage artworks under three different and ever-growing collections (I have just released a few limited edition prints under each of these collections on my website) as well as commissioned work including a campaign for Iclei Africa’s Food Month; a Foyer Installation for The Tiny Room Therapy, album and single cover art for Ethyl Ether and poster designs for Live Sessions and features in local zines such as Ons Klyntji. I am currently working on some exciting commissions that I cannot wait to share more on, including a piece for an upcoming exhibition with Climate Lounge. Follow me on Instagram and subscribe to my newsletter to keep up to date with new works, releases and upcoming events.
Let us remember: sometimes one must look at life from a different angle, cut up some elements and moosh them together in different ways and voila – one will find meaning in even the strangest of things.