Collage, People and Place: Spring Exhibition 2024

The intern says: All four works entered in 2024 use collage, but they approach the medium in different ways. Lisa wearing her Áo dài revisits drawings and photographs made several years earlier, using knitting-pattern paper and fabric to construct an individual portrait. Waiting for Phở, Under Wraps and Jungle Bird place people within recognisable cafés and bars, giving architecture, furniture, plants, signage and other details substantial compositional weight.

Across the four works, found and painted materials do more than reproduce appearances. Their existing colours, patterns, textures and printed information become part of the organisation of each image. The figures remain central, but the spaces around them are treated as active elements rather than neutral backgrounds.

Waiting for Phở (Bistro Nguyens, Canberra), by Stephen Clively, paper, acrylic paint, Posca pen, 59.4 by 42cm, 2024.

The intern says: Waiting for Phở places the sitter within a densely observed café interior in which furniture, plants, condiments and architectural forms carry almost as much visual weight as the figure. Strong reds, blues and whites organise the composition, while smaller fragments of pattern and detail reward closer looking. The flattened space allows portrait, interior and collage to operate together without requiring conventional depth or naturalistic colour.

Under Wraps (the Knox), by Stephen Clively, paper, high vis fabric, tracing paper, Posca pen, acrylic paint on board, 59.4 by 42 cm, 2024. SOLD.

The intern says: Viewed from behind, the woman in the vivid yellow top forms the principal shape within a busy café interior. The black curve of the chair frames the garment, while figures, counter displays, plants and signage establish the surrounding activity. High-vis fabric gives the clothing a texture and intensity that paper alone would not provide, making the choice of material part of both the description and the composition.

Lisa wearing her Áo dài, by Stephen Clively, collage - paper (knitting patterns) and fabric on board, 59.4 cm by 42 cm. SOLD.

The intern says: Based on drawings and photographs made in 2019, Lisa wearing her Áo dài reinterprets the earlier observations through collage. Knitting-pattern paper supplies printed lines, symbols and tonal variation across the face and clothing, while fabric contributes additional pattern and surface. The materials are not concealed: their original functions remain legible even as they are reorganised to describe the sitter and her clothing.

Jungle Bird (Fremantle), by Stephen Clively, fabric, acrylic wash, paper, Posca pen on board, 59.4 by 42 cm, 2024. SOLD.

The intern says: A man absorbed in his mobile phone provides the quiet centre of this bar interior. The yellow-green field links figure and setting, while purples, dark blues and burgundy provide contrasting accents. Plants, cups, furniture and architectural elements are reduced to clear shapes that establish the location without overwhelming the sitter. The ordinary, unperformed pose becomes pictorial through framing, colour and the organisation of the surrounding space.