The Learning Zone

Emily Waknine

Learning Zone: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and the art you create?

Emily Waknine: I’m going into 4th year Drawing and Painting, and I make process based paintings and drawings. Lately, I have been collaging using drawings and magazine cutouts to create my works.

Why do you use collage?

Because it’s a fun and accessible medium that anyone can do, and I like the infinite possibilities of this medium.

Tell us about your process of working?

Well, I draw a lot of inspiration from the materials in front of me. It’s very intuitive and playful, I feel that my sense of humour is embedded within the process of making a collage and is very much a part of how the finished work turns out.

Do you prefer to work with digital or analogue tools to create your collages?

I’m very tactile, I like working with my hands and paper.

What other media do you work with?

Animation, photography — some of my photography informs my collages as well.

Do you feel that there are connections between your collage work and your animation?

Yes, very much.

What are some of the sources of your imagery?

I have so many sources, 1960s theme catalogue to get a lot of figures from, cigar boxes, stacks of National Geographic’s, Early Canadian Furniture books, these are the ones I tend to go back to. I cut out some of my own drawings as well.

Your collages are often based on interactions of two characters, is there a certain relationship study or narrative in this work?

I just demonstrate my own sense of humour. There is a funny conversation between the source materials, and I like to play with that. Italian vogue models can have a conversation with National Geographic imagery or Early Canadian Furniture books, it always turns into its own.

Is your Red series a formal piece or is it a representative piece? Red is commonly associated with passion, violence or other strong emotion.

I used the colour red in every page of the book, to formally tie the book together. There isn’t a coherent meaning behind my collage works. The nature of collage as a medium is typically violent and crude in its aesthetic and I tend to emphasize that quality in my works.