Artwork
#Alexis Hilliard
#collage
#nature
#paper
September 25, 2023
Kate Mothes
“Forest God” (2022), collage on panel, 18 x 18 inches. All pictures © Alexis Hilliard, shared with permission
Portland-based artist Alexis Hilliard describes her collages as “visible symphonies,” mixing quite a few pictures and archival supplies to create harmonious compositions. “Generally I exploit complete pictures, not lower up a lot. That’s like sampling a bass line,” she tells Colossal. “Different occasions, I’m solely utilizing a tiny shade swatch, in order that’s extra like including a easy observe into the combo.”
An avid collector of pictures, Hilliard scours every little thing from historic archives to grease work to Pinterest boards, amassing a set of tens of hundreds that span all kinds of themes and content material. And she or he can also be drawn to working in a wide range of scales. “Once I first began, I labored so much with WWI and WWII pictures, however the collage approach itself rapidly turned the purpose…There’s something to creating giant artwork items, those that encompass your peripheral sight and evoke the elegant,” she says.
Hilliard explores a spread of themes that tie collectively historical past, the volatility of nature, grandiosity, vulnerability, and extra. She typically emphasizes focus, like working stags or a silhouetted couple seated on a bench, within the foreground of huge and dramatic landscapes. “I’m not the perfect at perspective… however that additionally provides me the shameless potential so as to add 8 vanishing factors with reckless abandon,” she says. “It’s a enjoyable technique to play with perceived guidelines and break free from expectations—even your personal.”
Hilliard paperwork a lot of her course of, which you’ll find on Instagram.
“Volcano Research No. 2” (2021), collage on panel, 6 x 6 inches
“White Stags” (2020), collage on panel, 18 x 14 inches
“With the Present” (2016), collage on panel, 48 x 36 inches
“Portrait of Pele” (2022), collage on panel, 10 x 10 inches
“Silly Selections (2023), collage on panel, 18 x 14 inches
#Alexis Hilliard
#collage
#nature
#paper
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