Earlier this year I participated in “Confrontage,” a project conceived of by Andrea Lewicki of the Special Agent Collage Collective (SACC). Confrontage is just one of many defined categories of techniques and processes within the collage realm. (Check out “What Kind of Collage is That?” by Katie Blake to get a sense of the wide-ranging possibilities.)
The SACC mission was to bring collage elements together in the style of confrontage. I was intrigued by the brief, which read:
“To confront is to face, and that is what you are doing with this mission. It is time to put the most overused word in collage—juxtaposition—to work for you! You are asked to play the role of matchmaker, to bring pieces together that may not otherwise have a relationship and orchestrate an encounter between them.
What I want is for the two of us to meet somewhere by chance one day, like, passing on the street, or getting on the same bus. - Aomame in Haruki Marakami’s 1Q84
In confrontage, the process is not arranging fights so much as choreographing a dance, creating a composition that carries enough tension for the components to move together. What you generate is a kind of electricity, an attraction, a gravitational field that holds your collage in suspense.”
I described my collage as:
“Subtle confrontage... "Spiraling" makes connections between unrelated images in a manner that elegantly leads the eye from one image/idea to another, while creating a sense of overall movement. It looks cohesive at first glance, yet a very hard object abuts an organic form, which adjoins an architectural design element. Those implausible points of (con)fusion illustrate the idea of confrontage and also serve to enhance the curves that help unite the composition. The decision to keep the hard edges of the imagery, and employ very little of my typical ripping technique, reinforces the abrupt aspects of confrontage.”
“Spiraling” was just one of many confrontage-inspired artworks displayed during Collage-O-Rama at Slip Gallery in Seattle during May 2026. The collages are collected online here so you can see the variety of interpretations and submissions. Andrea explains, “…the combined efforts will serve as a documented source for reference and analysis. While the mission itself will culminate in a publication published by SACC, it is my hope that that this work will be a far-traveling wave in the large collage ocean.”
While I rarely categorize my work so specifically—participating in this project was a timely and thought provoking diversion. And though I don’t submit to very many calls for entry/artwork, I really enjoy working to a concept or challenge when circumstances allow me to participate with the larger (and very inspiring) collage community!