Meikel S. Church is a mixed-media artist based in Little Rock, Arkansas, whose intriguing collage pieces brings together elements of nostalgia and surrealism through the use of old, faded pictures from books and magazines.
Much of Meikel’s found imagery is subconsciously recognizable, giving his work the weight of more years than you’d expect from “new” artwork. His figures in particular feel effortlessly transplanted from their picture-perfect decades into a tarnished world created just for them.
In Under the Influence, below, Meikel juxtaposes several iconic images (a headless woman in a yellow tunic and pants, a broken pill capsule scattering its contents, a mound of money, the “LIFE” logo and an egg) and then allows his viewers to puzzle out the meaning for themselves.
Whether he is describing the passing of gender-roles, or the many ways we can be influenced by our culture (and perhaps losing our own way as a result) Meikel makes sure his compositions are both visually-arresting and inherently multi-faceted.
In this next piece, entitled The Nuclear Option, he puts a somewhat cheekier spin over what could conceivably be a rather dark subtext.
Is this the nuclear family of the present (or the future?) That landscape may already be decimated by nuclear blasts—or soon-to-be destroyed by the Death-Star-moon looming above. Perhaps these individuals are standing on the outer flagstones of a massive shopping mall, watching their doom approach.
Nothing is certain in Meikel’s artistic universe, and that’s part of the appeal. To wrap up, I’ll leave you with this final, somewhat poignant piece: Wake Me When It’s Over.
More emotional, and less overtly collaged, there’s still a feeling that the future and past are somehow colliding for this individual. It’s beautiful, sad, piece, and certainly one of my favorites.
If you’d like to see more of Meikel’s fantastic mixed-media collages, I encourage you to visit his website today.
This post may contain affiliate links.