Monster Collages – 10.02.26
Less than a week later, we met again at < rotor > for our second workshop – monster collages! < rotor > once again provided beautiful catering, this time with turkish bread, olives, peppers, cheese, spreads and fruit, as well as tea and coffee. We arranged the tables differently to make it easier for everyone to move around and gather in smaller groups for the collage activity. A substantial part of the set-up time was taken up with spreading out the huge pile of collage images in the entrance room of the gallery – I might have overdone it with printing images. As the participants arrived, the < rotor > team made sure everyone had a coffee and we gathered around the tables in the meeting room.
Collecting words and themes
We began the workshop by collecting words and themes in relation to the previous workshop. These were written in both languages on post-it notes and collectively organised into clusters.
Monster collages
The main activity for this workshop was collage-making. We prepared various craft materials, including some electronic components, and a huge pile of images including the monster images from the previous workshop as well as images of Goddesses, technology, nature and older women.
Many of the images were print-outs of images found online but we also found some great images in second-hand books and magazines. The task was to combine images you felt drawn to in order to explore the connections between the project themes: ageing, women, futures and technology.
We were surprised by how quiet everyone was as they focussed on making collages –we chatted a little but mostly everyone was absorbed in their work. We ended up joining in and making our own! Once they were finished, the participants took their collages to a private space that Steve had set up where they could film their collages and explain their process.
Collage gallery
Gallery wall
Once everyone had finished and had a break, we gathered around to look at everyone’s collages and a couple of the participants shared their process with the group. It was interesting to see how certain images related to their personal experiences and drew out unique connections between the themes.
Ursula Le Guin’s Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction
For the final half hour or so we regrouped in the meeting room to discuss the Ursula Le Guin text that they read in between the workshops. Many of the participants seemed to really relate to the text and it was an insightful and generative discussion.
Resonant moments
The final quick activity was to take a few minutes to write about a moment (or a few moments) that resonated with us. Resonant moments is a reflection exercise, which Steve suggested we use, and has proven a really useful process.