Beyond Photography's admiration for collage as a means of Image Making is endless. This week, we feature another amazing analogue collage artist: Nicollages. Her work evolves around the assembling of the human face as a means of expression. The penultimate question we asked is - is collage a form of construction or deconstruction? Have a look at our project "Colletivising the Collage" (collage week) to find more amazing collage pieces and form your own answer. 

"Firstly, could you tell us a little more about yourself and as your journey as an artist?"

My name is Nicole, I am 29 years old and live in Nuremberg, Germany. I was born in Kazakhstan and immigrated to Germany at the age of 5. At this age, my desire for collages has already begun. I wasn't allowed to use scissors at the time, so I ripped out objects and faces from magazines and then stuck them together. I haven't lost my passion for it to this day. Luckily.

"What does your work flow usually look like? How do you generate concepts?"

I just start. In my design studies, I was always taught to have a concept and to be able to justify everything. However, I have said goodbye to this idea. I do what I feel like. I sit down, flip through magazines and, mostly, one thing blends in to the other.

"Your work seems to focus primarily on the human face. How do you look at facial features in the creation of your artworks? And what makes some faces combine better with each other than others?"

I like contrasting facial features. Sad, happy, upset. If you mix these, often an interesting result comes out. Mixing these is so exciting and there are very interesting results coming out. 

"What intrigues you about the human subject?"

It’s exciting to create a new character piece by piece.

"Do you believe your artworks to be a form of construction or destruction?"

This is an exciting question. I think it's a form of construction. I create something new from old magazines-which otherwise end up on the rubbish.

"What is your stance on the digital age? Is there space for analogue collage in the age of the digital advent?"

The digital age is creating many new opportunities for artists. I love digital collages. Personally, I have to work with my hands and feel the material. I can't even imagine it any other way. People are always amazed when they hear that my collages have been designed analogue. That's why I believe that there is space for analogue collages.