Five Collages by Bill Wolak

I make collages out of all kinds of materials. Most are made out of paper engravings. Many collages are digitally generated or enhanced. To begin a piece, I select some sources—either color or black and white. If I’m using magazines or prints or old books, I cut out some images or parts of images that interest me. Then I start working on a background or some other sort of chance construction. Much is left to fleeting insights. These are tiny miracles of inspiration. Depending on whether I’m using scissors and glue or digital images, each collage could take several hours. Sometimes it takes several days or even weeks to know if a collage is finished. Much depends on the kind of collage and the size. 

For this series of collages, I have been working with bones and skulls, as well as other images related to darkness and death. In many cases, there is a distinct undertow of darkness in my work. This is suggested by the juxtaposition of bones and facial features, especially eyes. It is uncanny how I manage to always craft a pile of bones into something that is haunted by a face.  Sometimes I surprise myself with what I create. I do not set out with a preconceived idea of composition. I merely work with the materials at hand until something unexpected emerges. In this way, some black veiled women’s faces can become a doorway with a keyhole in the middle or some heap of bones can evolve into a face.

A symmetrical collage formed from image of animal bones

An Enigma Vanishing in the Direction of Delirium 

The face of a woman wearing a Victorian-era veiled hat is repeated and arranged around a keyhole in this collage

What Darkness Reveals

Vertebrae bones, rib bones, and foot bones are collaged into a long symmetrical shape

The Perfume of Nothingness

Skull and teeth bones are collaged into a new shape

Feverish as the Exchange of Secret Bites 

Bones are collaged to create a new two-headed animal with a long tale

Desperate as Shadows Trapped in a Mirror 

Bill Wolak has published his eighteenth book of poetry entitled All the Wind’s Unfinished Kisses with Ekstasis Editions. His collages and photographs have appeared as cover art for such magazines as Phoebe, The Passionfruit Review, Inside Voice, and Barfly Poetry Magazine.