There’s a time in my life I glorify, maybe for good reason, when I truly started to discover who I was and what I liked. One answer was not-so-much-a-girl who likes to create collages and cover walls with them. And my walls were very accommodating at the time; I had the loft room as a present from my dad when he moved out. It was probably the most artistic period of my life until now.
Everyone I’ve spoken to recently has probably had enough of me saying this, but I’m currently on one of my favourite units I’ve taken at uni so far called Women on the Verge. The experimental forms have opened my eyes to new genres of literature like autotheory, and in the first week we focused on the medium of collages. Previous to the first class, my boyfriend had ‘gifted’ me a Tate magazine that he found in someone’s bin because he knew of my stack at home. I brought that, my Eiffel Tower scissors (I’m much too indecisive to actually glue down my collage until weeks later), and a dismal expectation of actually producing anything as good as that summer.
After speedy snipping and losing multiple letters of my title, I had a basis of what my collage would be for my unit’s portfolio. The reading for the class had equipped me with my new favourite word: femmage — a feminist-coined word referencing the reclaiming of traditional actions associated with female tasks, e.g. cutting, cooking, sewing, decorating. Now it’s a word associated more specifically with collaging and that’s what inspired my own, very metafictional right!
Every week since I’ve been collaging with friends, mainly in the evenings after a day of studying. I’ve refound my love and can’t let go. I even spent halloween collaging with my friends back home — me in casual reassembling attire and them dressed as Carrie Bradshaw and a bride, all three contributing stacks of magazines to rifle through! The electricity blew and we were left to candle light, I’d argue the spookiest collaging can get really.
Despite reminding me of my perfect summer, I’m starting to make a winter habit of sitting in my pyjamas with candles and my trusty scissors, ready to sacrifice part of my deposit for the decoration I’m envisioning for my room in Bristol. During what’s passed of third year, I’ve felt much more at ease spending time alone — you’d think after two years that would’ve already been the case, sadly not. And finding hobbies I can do inside, admiring from afar the blanketing sounds of winter, has majorly helped. If this has at all encouraged you to start collaging, I have some last tips to leave you with:
Rubbish home decor magazines are cheap and you’d be surprised what you can find in them.
Like Henry, rummage through a few bins if you’re really feeling adventurous.
And lastly, use PVA for extra childish nostalgia!
Yazmin I'm in love with your style of writing! Thank you for sharing :))
I wasn’t rummaging ok it was on top a recycling box😔