Sydney Collage Society

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Downtime Interview w/ Oliver Lunn

Artist workspace

1) LOCATION?

I live and work in London, UK šŸ‡¬šŸ‡§

2) YEARS COLLAGING?

Iā€™ve been using collage in my work for maybe six years or so, itā€™s hard to say!

 3) WHAT DO YOU LOVE AND DISLIKE ABOUT COLLAGE??

The thing I love about collage is that materials are accessible, pretty much free, and sometimes just lying in the street waiting for you, so itā€™s a democratic medium. But because thereā€™s so much of it, I dislike that thereā€™s so much mediocre work out there. Itā€™s hard to discover genuinely original artists who take it beyond that hobbyist realm.

 4) BIGGEST INFLUENCES?

Painting is more of an influence. I try to look beyond collage for inspiration as it generally leads to more experimentation with paper and then eventually breakthroughs. Right now I love paintings by Joe Bradley and Raymond Saunders.

 5) ANALOG VS DIGITAL, PROS & CONS? 

Analog all the way. I started making collage as a way of escaping my laptop so the thought of a practice that was computer-based is a big turnoff. Iā€™m on the screen enough as it is haha.

6) HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DOWNTIME? 

I love learning Spanish, reading novels, and listening to tons of music. Iā€™m listening to a lot of Spanish-language music to help my learning, so a lot of Rosalia, C Tangana, Bad Bunny, Judeline, Ralphie Choo, etc.

7) THREE TIPS FOR SOMEONE STARTING OUT IN COLLAGE? 

I would say, try to look outside of collage, and be aware of the main tropes in collage, for example sticking flowers on peopleā€™s heads, donā€™t do that!

8) WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR ART PRACTICE IN 5-10 YEARSā€™ TIME?

 see my practice growing in scale, becoming a lot looser, more layered, with more elements of expressive drawing hiding in the edges.

9) UP AND COMING SHOWS OR PROJECTS WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?

I donā€™t have any shows lined up right now. Iā€™m trying to develop my work and explore new directions as I wasnā€™t completely satisfied with the last work I exhibited. Iā€™m currently interested in incorporating more drawing into my work.

See more šŸ‘€

Gram: @moonloops101
Web: oliverlunn.com

Artwork Credits:

The Beat Made Me Do the Stank Face
40 x 34cm
202ā£3
Mixed media on wooden frame

A Tendency to Slap My Thigh
40 x 34cm
202ā£3
Mixed media on wooden frame

No Melodic Hooks in the Footnotes
79.5 x 80.5cm
2023
collaged drawing on paper scraps

Too Sunny for This Song
76.5 x 76.5cm
202ā£3
Mixed media on canvas

Itā€™s Hard to Walk Slow Sometimes
40 x 34cm
202ā£3
Mixed media on wooden frame

Shipshape with a Cause
40 x 34cm
202ā£3
Mixed media on wooden frame

Hoover Suction Laugh
40 x 34cm
202ā£3
Mixed media on wooden frame

Slumber Yourself
40 x 34cm
202ā£3
Mixed media on wooden frame