Oh, I can almost smell these… not the flowers… all of that beautiful old paper! Sigh. These collages by Australian artist Lee McKenna are like found paper treasures. Bits and pieces from various places all coming together to create a new visual story… and seriously, am I the only one who knows exactly what that old paper smells like!? Here, in Lee’s words, is a description of this work:
“My collages embrace the imperfection of old, used, discarded and damaged paper. These papers depict moments in time – often bearing marks and traces of a past life and the human hand. I ‘rescue’ these unwanted fragments, creating layers and building connections into some sort of new, elusive and unpredictable thing. The process is wholly tactile – nothing is digital. I like the restrictions that this creates… the hand-cutting and gluing down, the use of only original papers and ephemera. Elements are added or removed, or covered over and reworked. Ideas and narratives may emerge, but often a series is initiated through the acquisition of a certain type of raw material – an old photo album, a stash of old maps, a pile of old postcards.”
Love.
{Most of this work is available via Boom Gallery, Australia}
Lovely! Are those works for sale?
i’m not sure… lee, if you read this, let us know!
Hello there! Thanks so much for featuring my work, Jealous Curator!! What a treat! Just to let you know – most of these (and a few others) are for sale at Boom Gallery in Australia http://www.boomgallery.com.au/artists/lee-mckenna/
ah, perfect! thanks lee : )
love it!
Cool! Thank you very much Lee!
What is that textured material? Is it gutted book spine or under-carpet remnant? Whatever it is, I love its use here! God these are gorgeous.
i’m not sure amy… lee?
Love those journal pages of yours!!
[…] been thinking about doing a brown paper collage for a while now. The Jealous Curator featured Lee McKenna and her gorgeous found paper collages about a week ago so making a collage like this has been on my […]
[…] “My collages embrace the imperfection of old, used, discarded and damaged paper. These papers depict moments in time – often bearing marks and traces of a past life and the human hand. I ‘rescue’ these unwanted fragments, creating layers and building connections into some sort of new, elusive and unpredictable thing. The process is wholly tactile – nothing is digital. I like the restrictions that this creates… the hand-cutting and gluing down, the use of only original papers and ephemera. Elements are added or removed, or covered over and reworked. Ideas and narratives may emerge, but often a series is initiated through the acquisition of a certain type of raw material – an old photo album, a stash of old maps, a pile of old postcards.” –Lee via The jealous curator […]