Cut & Paste: 21st-Century Collage

In the digital age, the original meaning of cut and paste has been replaced with a few clicks of a mouse, which has led to a lot of computer-generated work that looks derivative and unimaginative. In response to this, creatives have returned to using more traditional methods of making images. There has been a resurgence of drawing and illustration. Collage is the next step, the natural progression of illustration, as it combines drawing with the other mediums. It is the fusing of methods that makes for a new language. Increasingly, collage is being used in ads, magazine editorials, fashion spreads, street art, album covers, animation and websites: from the Prada Menswear invitation to the editorial of Butt Magazine, from Brahma beer poster campaigns featuring the work of Brazilian artists such as Speto and Giga to posters for the Tate Gallery. The surreal juxtaposition of images provokes thought, humour and understanding, two-dimensional images become three.