In late May 2025, I was very excited to be selected to participate in a unique and immersive artistic residency that took place in London, UK alongside 16 other international collage artists. Hosted by Les Jones, founder of Contemporary Collage Magazine and esteemed collage artist Cecil Touchon, the project challenged artists to create new works using only materials sourced or found within London. This single rule sparked some anxiety at first, followed by immense creativity and offered a fresh and localized perspective on collage art, highlighting the textures and stories embedded within the city.
The residency culminated with a pop-up exhibition at Indra Studios in Hackney Wick. Thanks to social media, a poster blitz and a very early morning interview with Les Jones and myself on BBC radio, the public was invited to step inside our working and exhibition space, meet the artists and witness firsthand the diverse approaches and interpretations each brought to the project.... over 250 collage works were created collectively in one week!
I came back to Canada both excited and exhausted but eager to see where that intense and inspiring experience would take me in the studio. Works created by myself during the residency can now be viewed in my PORTFOLIO in Found Material Collage. All of the papers I used were gathered from walls, fences and bulletin boards found on my walks to and from the studio each day. A suitcase full of London papers returned with me as well and will resurface in future collages… and hopefully, back onto walls!