WATCH: Mystical women born at La Folie

Saturday 10 August 2019

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Hidden away in a much-loved former Jersey pub, the daughter of an opera singer can be found creating delicate collages celebrating the female form.

Shrouded in coloured clouds, their ethereal silhouettes adorned by intricate details, the women in Eliza Anna Reine’s collages born at her La Folie studio look like mystical creatures, enigmatic entities hiding a depth of unfathomable knowledge.

Oscillating between the warm oranges, rich reds and deep purples and the cooler tones of blues, greys and whites, Eliza’s mixed media collages collectively seem to represent the many different facets of women everywhere, like an ode to the female form.

“I have always been interested with women’s hands,” she explains.

Video: Eliza's work features in Private & Public's 'Pink' exhibition.

“I find them very pretty, which is why sometimes I will leave them out as they are. Women inspire me. If I feel a bit down, I look at other women that are inspiring. I feel that I need to surround myself with women.”

The women in Eliza’s collages come from cut-outs of women’s magazines her friends gave her or that she found in charity shops and had been storing in her studio, located near La Follie. “It’s another way of recycling,” she jokes.

At the end of the month, she will be opening the doors to her studio at La Folie. Soon, she will also start working on a mural for the fish market. 

Pictured: Eliza creates her collages from her studio at La Folie.

While Eliza has been doing art in all its forms, including music – her mum was an opera singer - since she can remember, she never considered she could make a career out of it.

“As a little girl, I didn’t think I was going to be an artist,” she explains. “It was just something I was doing all the time and enjoyed so much, I felt it was too easy. I thought everything in life had to be earned and art felt too enjoyable.”

“I wanted to be an actress because I thought I could put so many art forms all together,” she adds. “I’ve ruled out the idea, but I keep that in mind somewhere. I’d like to sing, perform.”

Pictured: Growing up, Eliza never imagined she would become an artist.

But for the past five years, Eliza has been doing art constantly. It started in Latvia, where she was born and raised, and followed her all the way to Jersey where she moved two-and-a-half years ago.

“I try to convince myself it wasn’t for love because I am an independent woman,” she says before explaining that she came to the island to join her boyfriend, who also hails from Latvia and has been coming to the island for the past six years.

“We immediately clicked when we met, and we were in a long-distance relationship. When I graduated, I wanted to travel, and it made sense to go where he was.”

Pictured: Eliza works in layers of colour clouds before inking delicate details over them.

For the past 18 months, Eliza has been focusing on her collages. While she started the practice five years ago, it’s only recently that she got “the system down.”

Starting with the cut-outs, which she places on a primed canvas, Eliza works in layers of colour clouds, which she picks according to what she wants to attract in her life, whether it is calm or energy.

Then comes the last stage which “brings it all together and gives it a formality”: the delicate detailing with ink.

Pictured: Shrouded in coloured clouds and adorned by intricate details, the women in Eliza Reine’s collages look like mystical creatures.

The results are incredibly poetic creations which seem equally unfathomable and familiar, abstract but also very real. Their depth is fascinating and prove that collages really are an art form, contrary to popular belief.

“I think sometimes people may not understand it,” Eliza says. “They underestimate collages, but I enjoy it so much. It’s very artistic and chaotic.”

Eliza's work is currently on display at Private and Public gallery as part of its 'Pink' exhibition, which aims to explore and challenge themes of femininity.

Pictured: Eliza created mixed media colleges from cut outs of women's magazines.

It's the first exhibition to be curated by Jasmine Mansell, who joined the gallery earlier in the year.

"One of the first things Jasmine commented on when she started with the company was how masculine she felt both the exhibition programme and the design of the spaces are... I was left wondering how it might be possible to make the gallery more inclusive," Gallery Director Chris Clifford explained.

The result is an exhibition where the work of Eliza and quirky portrait artist Rebecca Leigh, whose work is said to be favoured by the Royal family, are focal points.

On the walls of the gallery, they are joined by Nicholas Romeril, Daniel Porter, and Sir Claude Francis Barry, a British modernist born in Jersey whose works have only just started to become widely known.

The exhibition space is open throughout August, 10:00 until 13:00, Monday to Friday.

GALLERY: Immerse yourself in 'Pink'...