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Photo Collage: A History of Cut, Paste, and Storytelling — and How It Shapes My Art
- Jack Lloyd
- Aug 19
- 5 min read
When people see my work — whether it’s a bespoke photo-collage artwork or one of my hand-crafted real timber frames — they often ask where the idea comes from.
For me, photo collage isn’t just a technique. It’s the way I see the world. It’s how I connect fragments of time, place, and memory into something whole and meaningful. And it’s part of a tradition that stretches back more than 150 years, through Victorian experiments, rebellious Dadaists, surreal dreamers, and modern digital creators.
This blog is part history lesson, part love letter to the art form that shapes my practice — and part personal story about why photo collage means so much to me.
What Exactly Is Photo Collage?
At its simplest, photo collage is the process of combining multiple photographs into a single composition. That can mean physically cutting and gluing prints or layering and blending digital images. But the real magic is in how unrelated images can form a new story when they’re placed together — a magic I rely on in my own commissions.
When I create a wedding day collage, for example, I’m not just putting photos side by side. I’m weaving together the smiles, the weather, the place, and the small details into one image that tells the story better than any single frame could. It’s an approach that feels as much like storytelling as it does like visual design.
From Scissors and Glue to Avant-Garde Protest
Long before Photoshop, artists were experimenting with composite images:
Victorian Photomontage (1860s–1890s) – Early photographers like Oscar Rejlander created elaborate scenes from multiple negatives, seamlessly blended in the darkroom. These weren’t playful — they aimed to look like a single “real” image.
Cubist Collage (1912) – Picasso and Braque introduced collage to the modern art world by pasting printed textures into paintings. This shift opened the door for photography to enter the mix.
Dada Photomontage (1916–1920s) – Artists like Hannah Höch and John Heartfield used cut-up photographs from newspapers to make bold, politically charged works. They didn’t try to hide the edges; the roughness was the point — a challenge to authority and convention.
As an artist, I connect deeply with the Dada spirit. Many of my pieces for personal commissions embrace that sense of layering and juxtaposition — keeping elements distinct so the viewer can see how different pieces of a life fit together.
Surrealism and the Dreamworld
In the 1920s, Max Ernst and other Surrealists took collage into strange and poetic territory. They combined ordinary photos in ways that made no logical sense but felt emotionally true — dreamlike, unsettling, or oddly beautiful.
This is something I often explore when working on memorial pieces. Life’s stories aren’t always neat and linear; they have surreal turns, unexpected connections, and emotional layers. Collage lets me reflect that complexity in a way that straight photography can’t.
Collage Goes Pop (1960s Onwards)
By the 1960s, collage had exploded into popular culture. Richard Hamilton’s Pop Art compositions used photography, advertising, and bold graphics to comment on modern life. In the 1980s, David Hockney created his famous “joiners” — grids of Polaroids that pieced together scenes in a way that embraced the imperfect.
Hockney’s joiners resonate with me because they acknowledge that memory is fragmented — just like my own experiences moving from Manchester to Hawick. In my own work, I often create pieces where each photograph retains its individuality but still contributes to a bigger, cohesive whole.
The Digital Revolution
The arrival of Photoshop in the 1990s changed everything. Suddenly, you could blend images seamlessly, distort scale, and manipulate colour in ways that were previously impossible. Today, I combine both approaches — the handcrafted feel of physical collage with the precision of digital editing.
That’s important in my process because the digital stage allows me to fine-tune the balance of colour, tone, and texture, while the physical presentation — printed on fine art papers, mounted, and framed in Scottish timbers — gives the work warmth, depth, and permanence.
Why Collage Speaks to Me Personally
I think my fascination with collage is rooted in family history. In my Hawick studio, I have my great-grandfather Arnold Widmer’s dismantled weaving loom — a link to his work as a pioneer in Swiss straw lace. Weaving is, at heart, the art of interlacing different threads into one fabric. Collage, to me, is just weaving with images.
When I create a commission, I’m weaving together moments — a wedding kiss, a childhood home, a beloved pet, the place where two people first met — into a tapestry of photographs. Each piece I make is both a visual artwork and a personal heirloom.
Applications of Photo Collage (and How I Use Them)
Today, photo collage has endless uses. Here’s how I see them in my own practice:
Fine Art Storytelling – Using collage to create artworks that feel timeless yet personal, often drawing on heritage, memory, and place.
Wedding & Life Celebration Art – Capturing the emotional arc of an event in one image.
Memorial Pieces – Honouring a life by combining treasured photos into a lasting tribute.
Place-Based Heritage Art – For local businesses or communities, creating artworks that celebrate a location’s history, landmarks, and people.
Corporate Commissions – Telling a company’s story through imagery of its history, people, and achievements.
Artists Who Inspire Me
Many artists have shaped how I think about collage:
Hannah Höch – Her fearless political photomontages show how collage can be bold and confrontational.
David Hockney – His joiners embrace imperfection and multiplicity.
Barbara Kruger – Her use of text and image reminds me of the power of pairing words with pictures.
Lorna Simpson – Her exploration of identity through photographic fragments is deeply moving.
Eugenia Loli – A contemporary artist whose playful, surreal work keeps collage fresh for new audiences.
Each of these artists reminds me that collage isn’t a single style — it’s a language with countless dialects.
Why Collage Endures — And Why I’ll Never Stop Making It
Collage has survived every artistic trend because it’s endlessly adaptable. It can be raw or refined, analogue or digital, political or personal. For me, it’s also endlessly rewarding because no two commissions are ever the same. Every client brings a new story, new photographs, and new possibilities for connection.
In a way, my work is part of the same lineage that began with Victorian experimenters and Dada protestors — but filtered through my own journey as an artist, my background in gallery work, my move to the Scottish Borders, and my love of craftsmanship.
In short: Photo collage isn’t just history on a gallery wall. It’s alive, evolving, and deeply personal. And in my hands, it’s not just about images — it’s about weaving together the threads of people’s lives into something beautiful, lasting, and unforgettable.
If you’d like to discuss a bespoke photo collage commission — whether for a wedding, memorial, family history, or business heritage — you can contact me at info@jacklloyd.co.uk or call my Hawick studio on 01450 263157.
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