11.5″x3″; paper, preserved flower petal, shell; 2015. Courtesy of the artist.
FROM KOLAJ 29
Scott Austin’s Artist Portfolio
San Francisco, California, USA
That The Sky Is Above Us, Even When We Do Not See It is a collage sculpture work. Scott Austin, who uses the moniker Sloppy James, weaves an elaborate composition of fragments around the body of a clear wine bottle. Fish swim among stamps. Birds fly above a canal. Shards of paper grow off the bottle like shelf fungus on the side of a tree. Boys climb out on a limb that comes off the work. The collage is a fascinating testament to the medium’s ability to venture from the flat plane.
A portfolio of Austin’s work appears in Kolaj 29. To see the complete Artist Portfolio, SUBSCRIBE to Kolaj Magazine or Get a Copy of the Issue.
11.5″x3″; paper, preserved flower petal, shell; 2015. Courtesy of the artist.
When I’m working on a collage, I want to tell a story with it, and I want the collage to be engaging enough to bring the viewer closer. There are times when I’ll just let a collage go to wherever it wants to go, but mostly, I’ll sketch-out an idea for a collage, and then I’ll gather the images I need to make that collage come to life.
A portfolio of Austin’s work appears in Kolaj 29. To see the complete Artist Portfolio, SUBSCRIBE to Kolaj Magazine or Get a Copy of the Issue.
Scott Austin is a prose poet, photographer, writer and designer who has been working under the pseudonym Sloppy James for nearly fifteen years. He is an autodidact who worked as a photographer for nine years. Collage began taking over his life in 2004 and he spent some time in Montreal in 2006 to work on collage and learn new techniques. He now lives and works in San Francisco. Learn more at sbaustin.carbonmade.com.