Who are you?
Simone Esterhuizen. By day I work in communications for a talented furniture maker, by night I collage.

Give us a brief creative background. How did you begin working with collage?
Prior to collage I was a burlesque artist. The ability to create concepts, choreography, costuming, music and light selections initially drew me to it.. I was able to draw together my interest in art, music, old film references and theatre and create live moving pieces. It had a real DIY aesthetic and the idea of creating concepts from a flicker in the imagination was appealing. I specialised in 60s Space Age performance using UV, film scores from old science fiction films, and 60s fashion influences for costuming.

Not long after I finished performing I became heavily interested in collage. The elements are essentially the same for me: it’s taking all of the influences I love and creating a fantasy world although instead of on stage, it’s captured on paper.

Why collage?
It just makes sense to me to reinterpret everything I’ve been visually exposed to.

I initially began experimenting with collage and art again after burlesque to switch off from the digital world. I was on a computer for work, and was becoming frustrated at how automatically I would pick up a phone, or look at a screen. Collage initially allowed me to put away my phone and just experiment.

Six years ago my father had a stroke and now has aphasia which radically changed my outlook on life and my idea of communication. In a way, collage and having an art practice has been therapeutic and allowed me to both use it as therapy to explore where I sit in the world but also explore visual means of communication.

Describe your practice and workspace ie: messy, sorted cut outs, rituals, methods of working etc
I work from an old bank desk in a converted studio at my house in Melbourne's west and usually late at night.
Finding the right image, either a starting image, or a piece to complete a piece can and usually does take months. Sometimes I sit on an image for a year until I find the right elements for it so my practice is very deliberate.
I love working with scraps and offcuts . My space gets out of control quickly despite intentions to keep it clean. I love working with scraps and offcuts

How has your practice evolved?
I'm becoming more intentional with the material I source and use. I'm beginning to make the material work for me instead of the other way around. If I finish a piece I leave usually leave it for a few days to view it with new eyes to know whether it's complete.

Where do your draw inspiration from? Any favourite artists?
Everywhere. Colour palettes from mid century film, photography, mid century interiors, 60s costume design. Right now I'm obsessed with colour palettes in Doris Day films. There’s too many favourite artists to mention.
Sometimes I list what I'm looking in blog posts on my website.

Where to next?
Right now I still feel I'm in an experimenting phase, I'm beginning to challenge my ideas of what collage is, how I can introduce contemporary materials, how I can address issues in it that are important to me.
I've also been experimenting with mixed media and getting into combining paint and relief printing into collage, and perhaps exploring contemporary ideas of Pop Art, repetition and consumerism because the ethos of Pop to me still feels incredibly relevant. Except that it's not glamorous now, and our love affair with plastic and consumerism is ruining our planet.
I have a group show in May at Red Gallery so hope to exhibit pieces that reflect these explorations.

To view more of Simones work visit

simoneesterhuizen.com
Instagram: @simone.esterhuizen.collage

Artist Profile: Simone Esterhuizen