a chinwag with minna gilligan
We catch up with the super-rad collage artist on the release of her new book.
Minna Gilligan is a Melbourne-based multidisciplinary artist who uses her skills with paint and paper in order to make super-groovy and psychedelic collages and even has a rad collaging book up for sale. Minna chats with us about art and Collage Kit, as well as her own creative process.
Tell us about your new book, Collage Kit. It’s a book that you’re encouraged to cut up! I’ve compiled and illustrated hundreds of images: backgrounds, people, flowers, food, animals, text and so much more. The book has everything you need to make your own collages, including inspiration and words about how to approach the medium.
What inspired this project? After hosting workshops and seeing participants joyously approach the medium of collage, I wanted to create a book that was akin to stepping into my studio of supplies, and to encourage artists and non-artists alike to operate in creative realms.
What themes do you often focus on in your work? Aesthetically, my works riff off the pop and psychedelia of the ’60s and ’70s. I form abstract playgrounds of colour that I inhabit with collaged protagonists to evoke swirling narrative worlds. Recurring scenes in my work include women in states of longing or exhalation, surrounded by traditionally feminine imagery such as giant florals or fruits.
How did you get into collaging? We all collage in primary school – we’re handed a tattered New Idea magazine and blunt scissors. I found a love for op-shopping in high school and browsed through secondhand books and magazines. There was so much technicolour imagery that wasn’t being used or appreciated on the shelves. I started buying old books, and as my art practice burgeoned, the images found their way into my artworks.
Where can find more of your work? Find me on Instagram and TikTok. Collage Kit can be purchased online here and from all good book stores.
This interview comes straight from the pages of issue 114. To get your mitts on a copy, swing past the frankie shop, subscribe or visit one of our lovely stockists.
