Lost in the visual translation | Collages Week 5

Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture.

– Anthony Burgess

I need to get going with scanning seven more collages but in hindsight I wish I’d written down some of the thoughts that went through my head in previous years as I created my collages. So many thoughts about material, size, placement, color, shapes, words to include, ideas, preferences, and then lastly when a collage is finished: what to title it?

I think collage number 29 still is very low as we’re nearing March which will be week nine and start on day 60 of the year, but we’re getting there. This collage features a little illustration of a hand picking an apple of the tree. I glued it on top of different, found, patterned papers. The text is from the same gardening book about having trees to take care of and translated to English it means: “the tools are considered stable and” + “the fruit should’ve been kept”. Pruning could’ve been another title for this collage, as that is what it’s about.

With collage there is also a lot of pruning being made. Bits cut out, cut away, cut into. Left over bits and thin strips that goes into the paper recycling bag that I always keep under my desk as I work. Cut away the excess, but for the love of all, keep your darlings.

I feel like some of my ideas will (inevitably) go lost in the translation from artist to viewer, but also from artist now to artist in the future. So I’ll write a few thoughts down here and there, for myself. You as a viewer don’t need the translation, you’re free to just look and take in. The viewer will always have the power to decided what the artwork means (if anything) and what you think of it (if anything). But the artist also has the opportunity to add their artist statement, and sometimes also an “explanation”, a visual translation. Some people stand firmly in the “art should be able to stand on its own” camp, while others like a bit of context. I am definitely in the later camp. I love those white labels next to the artwork at museums or galleris, telling me what materials was used and sometimes if we’re lucky, a bit about the thought process behind the art. I love them. I loved reading the text under the artwork on Instagram (was it created recently or a few years ago, was it hard or did it come easy, is it part of a series of a new invention) and I always read the image text in art books closely.

For collage number 31 of the year I googled “daisy”(because all I could think of was Daisy Yellow and that was not it) and found out that there’s a company called Daisy Consortium (with tve slogan “creating the best ways to read and publish”), and I like how that sounds. I then googled consortium and loved the meaning of that word, and simply “stole” the word combination for my collage title.

definition: A consortium (pl. consortiums or consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal. Consortia are generally nonprofit with a goal to help its members improve their competitiveness in the specific field.

It was perfect as I am dong these collages in collaboration with Tammy of DaisyYellow! We’re in this together.

Next collage has me thinking (again as I often do) about Ukraine (even though blue and yellow is also Sweden’s colors), the underdog of the decade. Hence I named this next collage after their strength…

Writers make national literature, while translators make universal literature.

– José Saramago

Let me know if you think I should keep going with the behind the scene thoughts all the time or when I can, or you’d rather just look at the art as it is. Let’s finish a bit quicker with the last three collages today, and move on to something else.

I believe the essence of translation lies in taking what is unsaid in a work from one language to another. Words have memories, a history of their own. There are no two words with exactly the same meaning. To recreate the unspoken in another language, one needs to understand what went into making the original; then one must dismantle it and rebuild it in the other language.

– Vivek Shanbhag

Thank you so much for clicking over, taking a look and leaving me a comment below telling me which of these collages you like best – and why you like it.

About this project: I am making one collage for each day of the year in 2025 and blogging seven at a time each week here. I have created 365 artworks in a year thrice before so I am hopeful that I can do it again. Please also check out week 5 2013 and week 5 2018 – and leave me a comment if you find a new favorites along the way. I’d love to know which of these you like best – and why you like it. Thanks for helping me finish this by cheering me on. I appreciate you being here.

365 collages in 2025 | previously week 4 | this is week 5 | next up: week 6

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All art created by hand by iHanna. Copyright Hanna Andersson. All rights reserved. AI FUCK OF