Collage, Paper (Selection), Various Sizes, 2015 – Ongoing
This ongoing series of collages by Roland Wegerer exemplifies his interdisciplinary and experimental approach as a contemporary media artist, researcher, and idea coach based in Linz, Austria. Each work in the series is meticulously crafted from snippets of paper, combining fragments of people with elements drawn from objects, animals, and plants. The resulting images are surprising, often surreal compositions that challenge viewers to reconsider the boundaries between the human body and the world around it.
Beyond the inherent combinatory nature of collage as an artistic method, Wegerer’s series raises important questions about the representation of well-known personalities, models, and cultural clichés. By deconstructing and reassembling familiar images, the artist invites the audience to reflect critically on how identity and societal ideals are constructed and perpetuated through media and visual culture. The playful yet incisive rearrangement of these elements disrupts conventional narratives and encourages new perspectives on individuality and mass culture.
A recurring theme throughout the series is the notion of prosthetics and the replacement or extension of the human body. Wegerer often substitutes or augments body parts with objects, animal limbs, or botanical fragments, creating hybrid figures that are both humorous and unsettling. This exploration of the body’s mutability resonates with his concept of expanded sculpture—an approach that transcends traditional boundaries by integrating photography, performance, and new media to create dynamic, interdisciplinary experiences. The collages become temporary, visual sculptures that exist in a space where the organic and the artificial, the real and the imagined, coexist.