My approach to collage

Connections intrigue me. I am always searching for the relationships between apparently unrelated things and love to find unexpected similarities which bring ideas or images together. In creating collages, I collect imagery and surround myself with a sea of fragments. I look for visual or conceptual connections and fit pieces together, creating something new: a unified whole infused with meanings which were not there before.

The source material for my work is photocopied engravings and illustrations from the 19th Century. They appeal to me because they are not of the present time and do not have the everyday associations of contemporary images. This makes them easier to use symbolically, creating connections to the mythic, the unconscious, and the imagination. I use photocopies both because I like the fine detail and strong contrast, and because they allow me to work in series, reusing the same source images over and over again.