Alice Peillon/ Collage Art

Alice Peillon is a Dublin-born, London-based artist who graduated with an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art in 2006.

For much of her career, her practice was predominantly painting, but in recent years she has increasingly enjoyed exploring the potential of handmade collage. She describes collage as “thinking aloud”—an endlessly fluid process that allows for flexibility, spontaneity, and quick decision-making. The ability to move pieces around until an unusual juxtaposition captures her eye, and the composition clicks into place, offers a freedom that painting sometimes cannot.

Her source material comes from a wide range of places. She enjoys browsing second-hand shops for old magazines and paper ephemera, delighting in yellowed, torn pages that carry the charm of age. She has also found unusual treasures through online marketplaces such as eBay. In addition, she repurposes her own earlier works—drawings, monoprints, and paintings that may not have succeeded as standalone pieces but contain intriguing textures, marks, and elements. By cutting or tearing them apart and re-incorporating them into new collages, she gives them fresh life and renewed energy.