Page 66 - WTP VOl. VIII #7

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“Afew years ago I stopped using paint brushes or any direct tools in an ef-
fort to break patterns and repetition.
I first developed new ways of approaching painting, and the natural evolution of this research brought me to collage. This is an old practice that I always felt was underused or not in a very interest- ing fashion. What is innovative in the way I approach collages is the fact that I am using pictures of artworks from auction magazines.
I tear and assemble images of famous art to create new images of my own. I also use large pieces of wallpaper on my bigger pieces. This fragmentary process resembles the method of the archeolo- gist who patiently reconstitutes and reveals a pre-existent object, or the way a detective puts clues together to unveil the truth. For the fragments, theses torn papers, act as clues that guide the eye through the creative process and towards the construction of an image. These collages evoke recurrent themes such as the new versus the old, the sublime versus the trivial, the famous versus the obscure. This is my way of re-purposing material and paying tribute to artists that came before me.”
Raphaele Cohen-BaCRy