“Overall, working on the collages itself unpacked more themes that I wanted to explore, such as the juxtaposition between cuteness and elegance or being loved versus loneliness.“
Interview
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m Monique Tamayo, a cake decorator who loves to play video games. I’m drawn to aesthetics that blend cuteness with horror or gothic elements, and I’m especially inspired by fashion, anime, and the video games I play. As a cake decorator, I see the world as full of tiny and beautiful moments that are worth noticing and celebrating.
How much experience do you have with collage?
I have done various physical collages for previous school projects and many digital collages for both school and for fun.
Collage artists tend to be picky when it comes to their source material. Can you talk about your approach for selecting your images and/or publications?
My approach for selecting my images was based on the mood it evoked, rather than the actual subject material. I sourced from Pinterest, Japanese fashion and archive magazines, anime references, and photography archives. I looked specifically for images that resonated with my cute and gothic aesthetic as I wanted to create something that I would feel represented me and my view on the world best. I also considered colors and textures and how they would interact in the collages.
Were there any large themes you intended to explore or unpack before you began with this series of work? Did you stay on theme, or did things change as you began physically cutting and pasting images?
My theme was my perspective on the world and how I see cuteness and beauty in human experiences in everyday life. I wanted to capture a mixture of gothic and delicate elements that fascinate me. While I was working, I jumped from collage to collage instead of doing each one on its own, and it created combinations that contributed to my theme like surreal fashion and playful animal references. Overall, working on the collages itself unpacked more themes that I wanted to explore, such as the juxtaposition between cuteness and elegance or being loved versus loneliness.
How did your background and life experiences inform your collages?
My experiences growing up exploring fashion, anime, and the natural world influenced my visual language. In art and design classes when I was younger, I wanted all my work and projects to have a deeper meaning, which I think I achieved in my collages. I also think all the things I have been interested in and loved such as cute and gothic styles shape how I see the world and eventually what I chose to highlight in my work.
What was your environment and set-up like when making the work? Did you listen to music? Did you work in isolation, or were you surrounded by distraction? Do you think this influenced the work you made?
I was on a phone call with my group of friends as they were playing a silly game. I was also listening to my own music at a lower volume, but I was very heavily inspired by the song Apple by Towa Tei ft. Sheena Ringo. I feel like because of the cute and playful vibe it has, it influenced my work and led me to be more creative with how I was arranging my elements and how shapes were cut out. I usually work in a quiet space, usually in my room where I’m most comfortable and feel most like myself. I think this intimate and reflective setting helped my collages feel personal and cohesive.
Scissors or X-Acto?
Scissors.
Was there anything unexpected that emerged while creating your work? Any new epiphanies?
Absolutely! At first, I had printed out images that evoked a similar emotion and I had a slight idea of the themes I was going for, but wasn’t absolutely sure yet. After cutting everything out and arranging elements and adding stickers, I noticed that each collage had an element of both cuteness and darkness – which contributed to the idea that I can find cuteness in unconventional settings. When arranging the collages in the zine, that’s when I was able to fully comprehend my own honest work and clarify with myself the visual story I was telling, and how I wanted it to come across to anyone who looks at it.
Looking at your work again, has your understanding of your collages changed over time? Has any hidden meaning emerged?
Looking back, I see my collages as visual reflections of how I navigate the world with optimism and self-expression, rather than aesthetic experiments. The hidden meaning that emerged for me after dissecting each piece were patterns of my own vulnerability and loneliness, my own struggle with human connection, and fantasy themes across the collages. I think after having to title my collages individually, such as to sleep in a frilly forest, or i turned into a seal, it also showed a narrative thread of my own personal curiosity and whimsy that I didn’t notice while making each individual piece. I think when artists create and get lost in their work, it’s common for them to step back and realize there are elements from their own life that they portrayed, which is certainly something that happened with me.
