Emily Benefield makes collages from vintage magazines and children’s books of the 1930s to 1960s. She entertains herself tremendously by juxtaposing unlikely objects to create fanciful scenes. Her sense of humour comes through strongly in her work.
“I really like the style of the vintage illustrations, as well as the saturation of colour in the printing. There are also some really funny headlines in the magazines.”
Emily had been making cards for more than 20 years and started to make larger works in the last 12 months.
“The gender roles in those decades were very prescribed and adults are usually formally dressed so it is a lot of fun to be irreverent with those images, like juxtaposing a well-heeled lady or gent with wild animals or turning the sexist expectations on their heads.”