© 2023, Matthieu Bourel
All rights reserved.



BLAST FROM THE PAST
handmade Collage, framed 2600 x 1800m 1999/2000

The best period in collage was probably the beginning. I mean the real beginning. Like for anything. Without any conscious intent, naive, an obsessional pleasure, that you couldn’t control or explain. A need.
I was already making few little collages on my walls as student, but I remember that special day, on my way to University, founding a huge moving cardboard in the street, heavy and new. Not one choice, not two choices, I took it back home & arrived very late at school. Once back the same day, I started to cover it, evening after evenings, with images or magazine I had in my tiny student room, but I run out quickly of material. So I started to check the trash of the building. A MINE, full of treasures. I realised how people threw away their magazine and newspaper every day. A daily source. Rugby magazine, Pony magazine, Fashion, Playboy (sometimes weirder.), National geographic, Geo, politic newspaper from all sides, also Time magazine –which I was lucky to find in the middle of the 15arr Paris district-. I was wondering sometimes who was reading what when I crossed the neighbour in the elevator. Rugby & Pony was easy to find, Time or playboy less easy. I think I’ve identify them at the end.

So. I had this daily stock to pick up late every evenings and I started enjoying more to stay home than going out to concerts during weekend. I didn’t have much free time at this period, in parallel to my studies & my end of study thesis on Time spaces in Cinema, which was actually really accurate. Anyway It began then to be more interesting than the out world, or my way to synthetize my own vision of it on the Panel and I just couldn’t stop feeding it. Full passion. Intense. Searching, finding or discovering by accidents correlation between things, images, people, words, and Headlines. When I think about it today, this was a vast mix of influences, collage & pre approach of illustration domain.
After a month the panel was covered. As I remember I was really satisfied & joyful. I had created this. Something accomplished, also sharing with few super friends & people I work with, who enjoyed it as well. Just to look at it, discuss about it, & smoke weed. I think I started to be satisfied with my music at the same time. I was twenty-two.

I’ve started then to have a good new stock from the same trash. I couldn’t stop this part, in fear to miss some beautiful images, new source & inspiration. I even went once at night in socks and I forgot my keys inside the flat. Hell. How to explain such a situation? Had to go outside in socks to find a bar 100 meters away, to call a guy to open my door. It cost an arm, on a student budget. just for picking up magazines… Bit crazy but passion.
Few days after, while looking at my panel which was very thick. I realised when checking closer, that it was in fact not one panel, but, FOUR.

Rebelote

Same routine. Another multi/Stories. Another Marathon. A factory. Go down to stock at nights, cutting the magazines while listening to music, watching movies and reading to a ton of articles before cutting them. A thousand of topics, Inexhaustible source. 1,2,3,4. 4 Months, 4x4Pannel, or 1 gigantesque. That’s Blast from the past. 1999/2000