Monique Vettraino, “Our Paths Will Cross,” hand-cut collage, 2022

To Piece Together is a speculation on the aesthetic possibilities of contemporary collage. Collage is a powerfully durational and meditative process that sees incongruent images harmonize together like a satisfying puzzle, creating layers of unexpected meaning. It’s one of the oldest and most popular art forms in history—its inception dates back to 12th century Japan, when poets and calligraphers tore verses from coloured paper then reassembled them on scrolls or screens. Composed of paper and photographs from found-books and other recycled material, the work of artists Loraine Mohar, Jennifer Murphy, and Monique Vettraino approach collage as a form of visual poetry, a dynamic interplay of emotion and imagination through multidimensional imagery. Being universal, inexpensive, and accessible are the profound strengths of collage, traits it shares with other art forms like street art, knitting, and comic books. Likewise, this ties it to creative categories like low-art and kitsch while also anchoring it to socio-economic conversations about class. In their pictures, human and animal bodies are shredded, torn, cut, then painstakingly reassembled using paste and thread into fantastical landscapes, surrealist dreamstates, and ecological allusions. These once broken images are pieced back together and renewed.

Exhibition Description


To Piece Together:

Loraine Mohar, Jennifer Murphy, Monique Vettraino

21 January to 12 March, 2023

Opening Reception: Thursday Jan 26th 7pm - 8:30pm


Exhibition Brochure

(click to download)

Installation Images