Martine Zajacek is an emerging collage artist with a love of antique and vintage printed paper in all forms. She has a passion for showcasing its inherent and often forgotten beauty, and using the medium of collage to create artworks of layered complexity.

As well as creating and exhibiting collages, Martine runs regular collage workshops for people to create and frame their own collage using vintage materials from her vast personal stash.

She graduated with a Bachelor or Graphic Communication from the Queensland Collage of Art in 1987, where her love of the printing process and the tactile qualities of paper and ink began. She worked as a Graphic Designer in Queensland for many years.

Rescued old books and found ephemera directly influence her work, and most collages are created in a series, each unique yet aesthetically related. The patina and texture of these materials is exquisite, dating from 1870s to the 1960s.

The collage process is slow and deliberate: finding old books, curating papers and ephemera, assembling elements, and finally composing - each collage can take months or years as the right piece of paper in the right colour needs to be found to complete the work. Most of the materials have been collected over the past 12 years.

Themes found in her work include reuse and renewal of antique materials, a focus on colour, and a restraint of composition. The colour palette, style and composition of her work show a strong Japanese influence.

In addition to creating Collages, she collects and sells antique and vintage prints, which she styles into vignettes she shares via her Instagram account @thestoryofvintage.

Martine has lived on the coast in Victoria since 2011. On her almost-daily walks along the ancient landscape she photographs its tones and textures. These graphic, abstract landscapes and the colours and tones of the coast inspire both her collage and styling work.