Frank Peter John Dick by K8 Hardy

The collages presented in this debut book were never originally intended for exhibition or print, but merely research for the artist’s work. It was only after a few people saw them in her studio that she was encouraged to show them. Part of her process in creating performance and sculpture is gathering masses of images from disparate sources and obsessively collaging them together. Hardy’s work riffs on pop culture and all the images we encounter as consumers. In a sense, these collages are edits of photos torn from magazines, printed advertisements, and other visual imagery that Hardy finds compelling. Yet they also include her darkroom test strips and snapshots found at the junk store. Hardy has made visual examinations that deal with complicated ideas, issues of representation, phenomenon in style, and playful contemplations of fashion. Her book of collages is a proposition and a great resource for inspiration.