mia ardianto
mia ardianto
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Getting to know the artists in The Social Glue of Sydney exhibition
May 9-24, Chrissie Cotter gallery
Getting to know the artists in The Social Glue of Sydney exhibition
May 9-24, Chrissie Cotter gallery
Mia Ardianto is an emerging contemporary artist living and practising on Dharug land, Sydney. Her practice is largely process-driven and weaves together elements of printmaking, collage, painting and illustration, with found and archival imagery forming the foundation of her work. Drawn to the tactile act of collecting and rearranging, she reworks existing images through cutting, scratching and layering, creating delicate and surreal compositions. The works on display at Chrissie Cotter reflect years of playful experimentation and an ongoing fascination with the possibilities of collage. Mia is particularly interested in how images can transcend time - by reworking existing imagery, we can retain traces of the past while reshaping them into something entirely new in the process.
What materials are you drawn to?
I’m mostly drawn to old photographs and illustrations from a range of sources. Some of my favourite cutting material comes from children’s books, pictorial dictionaries, encyclopedias, and magazines like National Geographic and Scientific American. I’m also a big fan of anatomy books and images of body parts, particularly hands, which somehow often find their way into my work.
Where do you find your materials?
I’ve found great collage material in all sorts of places - garage sales, op shops, street libraries, Reverse Garbage, and even just walking down the street. Sometimes I’ll come across a scrap of paper from an old poster or a piece of discarded packaging that ends up becoming the perfect addition to a work or one of my art diaries. Berkelouw Books has also been a favourite spot, in particular the upstairs section with its amazing range of second-hand books.
I’ve also been lucky enough to receive heaps of collage material from friends and family who know I’m always collecting. A lot of material has come from my travels overseas too - particularly in Japan, with its incredible array of packaging, manga, postcards, train tickets, and even receipts.
souvenir de vichy
souvenir de vichy
souvenir de vichy
souvenir de vichy
trying something new
trying something new
Do you have a library of cuttings, and if so, how big is that library and how do you store them?
Yes, I have shelves, drawers, and folders full of books and cuttings, along with two large containers packed with National Geographic and Scientific American magazines. Most of my smaller cuttings are stored in little boxes that are, admittedly, not very organised - but they’re perfect for making work on the go or bringing along to workshops like Social Glue.
Do you have some books you've bought for collage that you haven't yet been able to cut up?
Yes, quite a few… Especially books I’ve picked up overseas that I haven’t been able to bring myself to cut into yet, and some I think I may never! That’s also the beauty of having a scanner and printer, which lets me experiment with compositions without touching the original. I have to admit though, sometimes nothing beats the texture and quality of the real image.
Do you begin to make materials first or ideas first?
My creative process has always begun with the materials first. I often find that working the other way around (starting with a fixed idea) can stump me, especially at the beginning of a new project. With collage, I usually start by considering the background: its shape and size, whether I’m using an existing image or painting my own surface, whether it needs line work or colour, or if I want to keep it simple with black and white. Sometimes I’ll choose a thrifted frame I already have and use that as a starting point or guide for the composition.
During my residency with Krack Studio in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, last year, I worked with damaged screenprints by other artists that had been affected by a tragic fire at the studio shortly before I arrived. Rather than see them discarded, I used them as the foundation for new collages - giving the images a second life.
Do you lay out lots of bits on a work surface and let relationships emerge from accidental arrangements, or do you go looking for particular elements to cut?
I think it’s an equal mix of both for me. Sometimes I begin a collage session by sifting through my existing cuttings and seeing what relationships emerge. Other times, I’ll spend minutes to hours going through different books, turning pages and cutting out images or fragments that speak to me. There’s usually a lot of trial and error involved, and new cuttings don’t always make it into the final work but they do get added to the box for next time.
Are there cuttings you've made that are years old that you've never found a home for?
Yes absolutely. I have years worth of cuttings sitting in folders, boxes and plastic sleeves that are still waiting to find their place in a work. Not to mention all the books and magazines that are yet to be properly rummaged through.
What's the longest time that you've held on to a cutting before you found a home for it?
I actually remember cutting out the frogs in this work back in 2019 while I was making my Visual Arts HSC project. Although I didn’t glue them down at the time, I did use them in the final work, which combined printmaking, collage, and drawing. I made temporary collages that weren’t fixed in place, then traced over them and etched the compositions into plastic drypoint plates. Years later, I’ve finally found a permanent home for those frogs in an artwork I began a few years ago and only recently came back to and completed for The Social Glue exhibition this year!
Do you glue your cuttings, or put them into arrangements and photograph them and put them back into your cuttings stash?
I do both! It often takes me many attempts at placing, rearranging and photographing the same cuttings before I finally land on a composition that feels just right. Sometimes the elements come together quite quickly and I’ll glue them down right away, but other times they’ll sit on my desk or in a drawer for days, sometimes months, or even years before I return to them. Eventually, I’ll come back to what I started and decide it’s ready to be fixed in place.
would the fall never come to an end - asking for directions
would the fall never come to an end - asking for directions
into the rabbit hole (detail)
into the rabbit hole (detail)
sudden composition
sudden composition
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