“The world is so unpredictable. We’re all living on edge…wild politics, wild weather, wild reality. Everyone take what you can while you can, because tomorrow may be very different.”
Analog collagist, Clinton Gorst, commands order in the chaos. Precise cuts, camouflaged rips and poised compositions are his control in the absurdist realities he creates.
You say an apocalypse tomorrow? Rest assured, collage art will single-handedly survive with Clinton’s collection of books waiting to be destroyed, “instead of shelves of paint my studio is a library that I’ve been collecting for like 20 years.”In a careful play of words he states, “scissors are my paintbrush.” With contemporary ambitions and vintage influences, Clinton seeks to “turn collage into a fine art.”
“A mother and child are climbing the steps to get a closer look at the huge statue of Apollo the horse. Surrounded by the curves of the Modernist building it makes for a dramatic utilitarian scene” – Clinton Gorst, Legacy Series
Lush landscapes, limitless galaxies, desert dreams – the intangible perfection of our universe is what Clinton’s collages build themselves around. Dancing, daydreaming and pondering upon strange universes that are just out of reach.
“I think with Sydney, and New Zealand where I’m from, I fell in love with the landscape, so that brought me back to my magical surrealism roots.”
We touched on the centrality of location to Clinton’s influences and trends, reflecting on what inspired him throughout different eras of his life. “I was living in London at 21, it was the most incredible time. I was obsessed with pop culture magazines like The Face, I.D. So a lot of my earlier works were more fashion orientated, and I loved using models. It was editorial, colourful and vibrant.”
Clinton on his 1997 collage titled, Leaving. “The last collage I made while living in London in the mid-90s, after I had to leave the city that I called home after 3.5 years. Recontextualising a classic still from Carrie, to become a hyper-emotional statement of beauty + loss.”
When asked how Clinton anchors his work in reality, he replied “what I’m striving for is unreality… I like to call it surreal realism rather than surrealism.”
The art of discovery brings Clinton’s creative visions and motivations to life – “I love the idea of people discovering the works at their own pace, in their own time…and getting lost in my world.” Onlookers are transported into warped liminal spaces between times, places and faces.
Clinton remarks, “you don’t necessarily spot the little details straight away.” The element of surprise is an added extra for him, especially when showcasing at communal exhibitions, such as The Other Art Fair.
“I want people to look at them and go, oh! A little bit off kilter you know…what’s going on here?”
A wave of emotions take hold of audiences and Clinton describes it as “at first they’re looking, and they’re slightly bewildered. But what I love is when they’re really curious, and then they start looking and finding smaller details…and you can go away and come back and discover something new.”
Fresh from the weekend, Clinton dives into his artistic practice each Monday. Days in the studio, for Clinton, are days where he can let creativity flow organically and without resistance. “I never try to force a piece unless I’ve got a deadline or a show coming up” he explains. His current daydreams stem from an obsession with mortality and immortality – a testament to the preservation of memories, faces and feelings that live on through his collages for years to come. When Clinton creates a collage it always has a story, “I’m working on some newer pieces that are dealing with my own little myths.” Recently, he’s been reading into Greek mythology, unpacking ancient tragedies and theatrics.
Since the near apocalypse of COVID-19, Clinton has felt a shift in human interactions. In this sense, we as a society failed in the dystopian happy-ending genre. “It’s sort of disappointing in a way, because I thought with Covid, and going through that everyone found different core values for connecting with others and their neighbours… but it seems to have gone the other way with the politics of today.”
Through a nearly lifelong career, Clinton has stayed true to his love of music, incorporating this into his practice. He tells me “I actually started out in collage when I was a kid… I had 7 inch records with no covers, so I would make my own from pages ripped from Smash Hits magazine.” He carried this passion into adulthood, finding a taste for the “young gothic rock and post-punk” sounds of artist, Heartworms (@iamheartworms), with a current obsession for her new song Warplane—PS I recommend listening to it while stalking Clinton’s Legacy Series on Instagram (@clintongorst.art) that showcases collages from the vault!
It was a childhood and now adult dream come true, when Clinton was commissioned to create a vinyl album cover for Lance Gurisik’s (@lancegurisik) ARIA nominated Jazz album, Cull Portal. An electric doorway into the space-age—enveloped in chilling mountain ranges and still, summer blue water.
Reminiscing, Clinton says “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, vinyl music’s my jam.”
This amalgamation is a love letter to the explorers, those who ponder at the ceiling or space trekkers. Clinton’s work isn’t meant to be viewed, it’s meant to be read and lived in, a medium as you will to another dimension of being!
In these uncertain times, Clinton offers us one piece of advice; “recognise different opportunities that you have, when you have them”…essentially “go for it!”
Discover more of Clinton’s art via CDGCreative
Hope and Humanity Storm the Church – Timelapse
