Lesley Hilling

Lesley Hilling
London, England, United Kingdom

STATEMENT

I started making analogue collages to go in my labyrinthine wooden constructions. The collages mesh with objects that are secreted within the piece. In the work, faded photographs, trinkets, and toys, along with snippets of collage, are hidden in secret drawers and cabinets much like old reliquaries concealing precious objects from view. There are also handmade collaged books hidden away in drawers awaiting discovery.

The collages are now pieces of work in their own right; they have a narrative tale usually about childhood and growing up in the previous century. They are all analogue, and I use a lot of images cut from magazine and books from the sixties. The colour on these images are deeper and very evocative of their time.

BIO

Lesley Hilling is an English self-taught artist living and working in south London.

During a successful career as a graphic designer and illustrator, lasting over over thirty years, she was shortlisted for several awards including the Canon Digital Print Award and the Mitsubishi Digital Print Award and was also featured in The Best of British Illustration.

During this time, she became interested in a more art-based practise and began to make collages which in turn became box constructions heavily influenced by the work of Joseph Cornell and Louise Nevelson. Lesley works solely with recycled materials; for collage, her materials are generally magazines and books from the fifties and sixties that have rich illustrations that today no longer exist.

Lesly has participated in many group shows and has had five solo shows including “The Enigmatic World of Joseph Boshier” where she masqueraded as 1930s modernist architect Joseph Boshier and collaborated with film makers Ivano Darra and Walter Graham Reed to produce a documentary about the fictional Boshier’s life. She has also collaborated with Ivano Darra to make a documentary about sexuality and gender, At the End of the Rainbow.

Lesley has lived in Brixton, south London, with her partner Nel for over forty years. They have a dog called Minnie, an allotment, and are active members of Brixton Housing Co-op.

ARTIST CONTACT

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IMAGES