Enter the paper fantasyland of Victoria's Morgana Wallace
Some characters leap off the page. These ones were made out of the pages themselves.
Name: Morgana Wallace
Handle: @morganawallace
"I feel like they are the characters I would use in a book, if only I could write." That's how Victoria's Morgana Wallace describes the inhabitants of her Instagram page, and her creations are as enchanting as any author's, whether we're talking the Brothers Grimm or George R.R. Martin.Ā
She makes valkyries and dragons, sorcerers and queens,Ā and all sorts of creatures of indeterminate, fantastical origin. Each one is vibrant and magical,Ā and painstakingly assembled from bits of textured paper, brought to life with watercolours and marker.
Starting tonight, Victoria's Madrona Gallery features "The Elemental," an exhibition of Wallace's collages. "It's fantasy/dystopian futuristic sci fi.Ā It's all over the place," Wallace says of her work. And a scroll through her Instagram feed reveals her influences.
"My inspiration comes from many different cultures and time periods," she explains.
Wallace's growing collection of anime and video game concept-art books is also a well for ideas. "As a kid I adored Sailor Moon, Magic Knight Rayearth," she says, "so that part of my life had a big impact on me."
"I'm not a big reader, but the Game of Thrones TV series really gets me going!" she adds. (Her "Mother of Ravens" should really set up a play date with GoT's "Mother of Dragons.")
The depth of each image āĀ the texture, the layers, the colours āĀ might not hit you immediately when viewed on a phone screen. But that's why following her progress on Instagram is a must. You can watch a character come to life, detail by painstaking detail, as she zooms in on details like these.
"Working with paper is great fun because I can try different poses, change limbs, hair, clothing, etc." Wallace says. "I am very impulsive when it comes to drawing and I often end of scrapping something because of spontaneity and poor planning. With collage work, I can explore multiple options for the composition, and I can easily repair any mistakes along the way."
"The Elemental" runs from August 28-September 10, 2015 at Victoria's Madrona Gallery, 606 View Street.Ā
Social media can be so much more thanĀ selfiesĀ and viral videos ā it's increasingly becoming a scratch pad forĀ emerging artists and other creative mindsĀ toĀ show off their latest work.Ā ArtstagramĀ curates the best visual talent onĀ Instagram, helping bring a little more art into your daily feed.ā