Installation view of Papiergeschichten, courtesy of Bundaberg Regional Galleries.

Papiergeschichten (Paper Stories) showcases the unique visual language of award-winning collage artist, Marlies Oakley. This immersive exhibition features thousands of intricately cut images, repurposed from magazines and vintage books, and styled into a three dimensional world of dreamlike whimsy, with a nod to the ideals of steampunk. Through the synergy of vintage imagery, surrealist concepts and hybrid assemblages, there emerges an all-encompassing space reminiscent of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

The mastery of modern collage by the artist is evident throughout this exhibition, from the the thousands of matchboxes, each containing an intimate vignette, through to the wall of glass cloches and the large-scale interpretative works, installed to fill the gallery space from floor to ceiling. Papiergeschichten takes the viewer on a whimsical adventure laced with intentional humour, and delightfully full of playful, whimsical and kitsch imagery.