Candy

'Candy' collage by Paul Vallance

Cat's cradle

'Cat's cradle' collage by Paul Vallance

Dharmagiri sky

Dedicated to the Dharmagiri sangha

David Bowie 'Starman' tribute in Leyton.

A David Bowie memorial by Paul Vallance

The day after David Bowie died I saved a pile of Metro newspapers thinking I might do something with the images later on. The front page was a beautiful full page portrait of Bowie in Aladdin Sane make-up coupled with the line 'The stars look very different today'. It was a beautiful elegant tribute for such a mediocre newspaper.
For my memorial I've pasted images from the newspaper onto an old mannequin. I found the dummy in the street years ago and its been down the end of my garden ever since scaring the birds and the neighbours. I had fun decorating it. If I had the chance to do it again I'd use the images differently but it's all glued down now in its random messy way with PVA, it can't be undone.

Taking up space: male physique

Hibiscus

'Hibiscus' collage by Paul Vallance

Aquarium

'Aquarium' collage by Paul vallance

The National Parks of Great Britain re-imagined

Northern lights

'Northern lights' collage by Paul Vallance

Fully fledged

'Fully fledged' collage by Paul Vallance

For this collage I've combined a photo of a bird of prey and a male nude by Peter Maria Schafer.  taken from his 1989 monograph 'blue up'.
I think the bird is a sparrow hawk but can't be certain.

Outback cat

'Outback cat' collage by Paul Vallance

Jean and Tommy

'Jean and Tommy' collage by Paul Vallance

This photograph of a girl and large cat comes from a book on the photography of Rose and Emma Windmill. It was taken in Geelong, Victoria, Australia in 1918 by Emma Windmill. The sitters must have both sat quite still as photographs then had quite long exposures. The parrots have flown in from another book on jungle flora and fauna.

Absence

'Absence' collage by Paul Vallance

White blood cell

'White blood cell' collage by Paul Vallance.

Photograph of woman at work by Lewis W. Hine circa 1225, with background scanning electron microscope image of white blood cell surrounded by bacteria from 'Inside the body: fantastic images from beneath the skin'.

Candy

'Candy' collage by Paul Vallance

For this collage I've used a photograph 'Candy worker' taken circa 1925 by the great American documentary photographer Lewis Hine. I love this image. I found it in a book 'Women at work' which features 153 of Hines photographs of women doing humdrum work-typists, telephonists, mill and garment workers and the like. In most of the photographs the faces of the women aren't visible, their heads are downcast watching over machinery. The 'candy worker' is different, she returns the cameras gaze. It's a haunting image. The expression on her face seems a bit forlorn, and what was she thinking? 'Why the heck does this guy want to take a photograph of me'?
I find old photographs strangely melancholic.  We'll never know what her name was or how many years she spent working in the candy factory, or what those chocolates tasted like. I hope she had a long happy life.