Two years ago, Emily Morgan, president and founder of the Columbus Collage Collective, drafted a proposal for an art gallery. She threw it in the trash after President Donald Trump was re-elected, rewrote the proposal and created "Pulp Stiction: Collage as an Act of Resistance."
Now, the exhibit is on display through Dec. 11 in Hopkins Hall Gallery at The Ohio State University and features more than 70 artists exploring themes of resistance through various types of collages. The exhibit is a partnership between Morgan's art business Lovely But Dead and Urban Arts Space, a public arts gallery operated by Ohio State.
"At the time I felt scared, and I felt lost and I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, and the only way that I was able to process those emotions was through art," Morgan said. "Collage is a great vehicle for that."
The name "Pulp Stiction" refers to the physics term, which is the force needed to break friction between objects. Morgan said the exhibit represents breaking free from oppression, fear and anxiety. Of the more than 300 submissions to the art show, the pieces range from themes of loneliness, chronic illness, politics and more.
"There's a lot of very personal and very visible stories within the show," Morgan said. "It's kind of beautiful though, because a lot of it also incorporates hope and not feeling stuck in it, like there is a way out."
Lynda McClanahan, a local artist and musician featured in the exhibition, created a collage called "Mother," which connects resistance to motherhood. The piece includes old Hindu calendars and Asian advertisements.
"It's kind of surreal becoming a mother, you become this other being," McClanahan said. "Being a mother is part of what you are, but it's not everything, and to resist the cultural forces that are working against your personhood are immense."
The exhibit also features international artists from the UK, Italy, Japan, Belgium, Indonesia and Gaza to show what resistance looks like outside America, Morgan said.
The exhibit also includes a room with a video collage by Los Angeles artist Mina Gudis and a large pile of scrap paper. Morgan calls this a co-destruction space where visitors can create their own collages.
"There's a lot of good that can be done when you're making art in a social setting like that," Morgan said. "Some people (might) want to keep seeking art and how they can make time for it in their life, and that's a win for me."
Morgan and the Urban Arts Space provided each artist in the exhibit a stipend to support their work. This covered postage fees for the international and cross-country works. To help fund the stipend, the show also includes a fundraiser. Morgan said her fundraising goal is $10,000. She has currently raised $3,500.
The show's opening reception is Friday at 5 p.m. and will feature a DJ set and guest speakers. The show also includes two collaborate collage parties, one on Nov. 18 and the other on Dec. 11, which is the closing event.
"Collage is very uniquely social... it's sort of my resistance against loneliness," Morgan said. " I think if I can help someone see that they are not alone in their struggles, and maybe they can see themselves somewhere in this art, maybe that might help relieve some of that anxiety, because when you don't feel so alone, maybe you feel a little braver."
More information on the exhibit can be found on Lovely But Dead's website.
