Collage Therapy: an inwards inquiry
All collages by Rohini Kejriwal
“How do you smuggle daydreams into reality?” -David Mitchell
Do you daydream enough? Do you have the tools or desire to express yourself creatively? Do you see art as an invitation to play? To heal?
As someone who dabbles proudly with multiple mediums, depending on the phase of my life and where my career is steering me, daydreaming has become a skill set in itself. I doodle on clouds, black out words from pages of books I’ll never read, and cut up any word, phrase, or image I’d like to use in future collages. While some might call this process ‘destructive’, there is no greater rush than the act of reclaiming and repurposing or creating something out of something else.
In my artistic practice as a collage maker and artist, a recurring theme I come back to is an internal investigation of my relationship between mental well-being, nature and words. While writing from scratch can sometimes be daunting, it is fascinating how the act of collaging has become an almost regenerative practice for me. Like in nature, there is a method to madness, a controlled chaos in cutting up words and pictures from old magazines and newspapers, and breathing new life into them by connecting the dots.
For us busy women, I believe it’s essential to have a creative mode of checking in, be it through the traditional ‘Dear Diary’ route or gratitude journaling or, in my case, obsessively collaging. Being someone acutely aware of her ADHD and meandering mind, I have learnt to befriend the chaos and honour my impulses, especially when it comes to the act of collaging.
Sitting at my desk with a stack of magazines, a cutting board, scissors, an Exacto knife, and a glue stick ready for use almost always opens up a doorway within myself, a sanctuary for introspection. Once that happens, it’s all about trusting the processing, not being overly outcome-driven, and letting the complexities of the inner world come pouring out.
Like with any job, this too comes with practice: one must stay tuned to the workings of the heart and mind, mindfully become a forager of words and images, and cultivate a playful curiosity towards the world. For me, embarking on this journey of self-discovery through collages has been akin to unearthing treasures hidden in the depths of my psyche, navigating through the labyrinth of my thoughts and emotions to find solace amidst the chaos. The inner child shows me potential gems in roadside wildflowers, yellowing family photographs, or old pamphlets and magazines never to be read again found in a dusty bookstore.
What started as a collage scrapbook during the pandemic has now blossomed into a therapeutic art practice, with more layered artworks, thematic expressions, and an ever-growing drawer full of inspiration for future collages.
I no longer fear the blank page; instead, I cut-copy-paste with gleeful abandon. Hours fly by in a rather meditative way as the seemingly haphazard arrangement of disparate images and words start making sense. Piecing together these fragments of the self is almost always a cathartic experience. Each collage becomes a mirror of my inner landscape, allowing me to heal, to comfort myself, to relish the intricacies of my psyche and release the unresolved emotions that I tend to shy away from.
But perhaps the most profound revelation comes in realizing that collaging is so much more than art. It is a transformative creative tool for tapping into the depths of yourself. Maybe it begins with creating a vision board—a therapeutic exercise in visually manifesting the life and world one wants to build for oneself. Or perhaps a Sunday morning spent flipping through old magazines, cutting up words and phrases that resonate.
In a world that often feels chaotic and too damn overwhelming, here’s hoping the act of collaging offers you a safe space to explore, experiment and express freely.
Rohini Kejriwal is the curator of The Alipore Post, a newsletter that shares weekly art, poetry and music from hidden corners of the internet.