THROUGHOUT lockdown, bookseller and producer Amy Tsilemanis created personalised collages as a way of keeping in touch with friends near and far.<\/p>\n
Until 31 January, Ballarat\u2019s Unicorn Lane Art Space is currently housing a selection of these collages and prints for Tsilemanis\u2019 exhibit titled, 49 Collages for friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t plan to have an exhibition but I was working away at home making these pieces for my friends and I asked them to give me a colour and a word to be the starting point for a collage,\u201d Tsilemanis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would send it in the mail or drop it in their mailbox during lockdown so when they would come home or go to the post office, they could have a little bit of joy waiting for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I saw them all together I thought, they look so joyful as a group so I thought why not put them out here for everyone to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having always been interested in a variety of art forms, Tsilemanis said working with collage was a fun way to stay creative and connected throughout the COVID lockdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played with colour and shapes and linking it to my particular relationship with that friend,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s lots of imagery of people dancing, three of them actually have imagery of me dancing, so it\u2019s all about lightness, joy and the celebration of friendship.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the lane exhibition, Tsilemanis is selling not only the displayed prints but also postcard sized recreations of the sections of the collages to help others connect with their friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the postcards, I picked out 20 prints from the images and split them into two packs for people to take home and write little notes to their friends or stick on their wall,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe postcards are available at Sothis Books and on my website as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Due to the central location of the exhibit, Tsilemanis said she\u2019s already received some great feedback from locals and tourists on her eclectic pieces.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fun bringing the muses for the original pieces to the exhibit, everyone\u2019s loving them having this extra life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe nature of it being here and people wandering down the street, I\u2019ve had a few emails and things of people saying they stumbled across it and to order some prints \u2026 it\u2019s such an amazing space.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re having an event here 29 January, just before the exhibit closes, anyone can come, all COVID-safe from 5.30pm to 6.30pm and I\u2019m maybe going to have a collaborative artwork going on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THROUGHOUT lockdown, bookseller and producer Amy Tsilemanis created personalised collages as a way of keeping in touch with friends near and far. Until 31 January, Ballarat\u2019s Unicorn Lane Art Space is currently housing a selection of these collages and prints for Tsilemanis\u2019 exhibit titled, 49 Collages for friends. \u201cI didn\u2019t plan to have an exhibition […]<\/p>\n