Paperscrap witnesses

Meet Photocircle‘s first customer: The artist Ines Kouidis. Even though we’re not online, yet, she has already ordered one of her own collages with us that portrays Sophia Loren. Ines Kouidis is telling her story with newspaper clips and pictures from the 50ies and 60ies, with advertisements for beauty products like soap, moisturizer and lipstick – everything a lady needs. Italian magazines inspired the title of the collage “Italians do it better” as they would always declare Italian women as the most beautiful. Ines Kouidis has grown up with art. Even in her early pictorial work her focus has always been on humans. Her aim was to capture the movements of the bodies and the tension of a moment: People having a bath, playing sports, dancers, bullfighters, the clanking of weapons, shoes clicking on the floor, the rustling gowns, the music. In the last few years Ines Kouidis has been working with collages. “I was surprised by the power a small paper scrap could have. I also really wanted to keep making portrays, as humans are still my favourite subject. So I brought both together, portray and paper, ripped, cut, glued together. The paper is a witness. Even the smallest paper scrap has its own story to it and like a puzzle a new appearance is put together. I always have a cutter on me. No magazine, no label or interesting poster escapes my attention.” Everything the artist finds on her travels she will bring back to her studio in Berlin. Besides working there she’s also part of an artist group, she appreciates the exchange with others. “Berlin is creative and international, it’s the best place to work.” Ines Kouidis is happy to have found Photocircle to print her collages in the future and to support a good cause at the same time. “It’s a lovely idea”, she says.