The Berlinage Residency

From May 15-25, 2024, Church was one of ten international collage artists who took part in Berlinage, a collage residency, held at Aquabit Gallery in Berlin, Germany. The artists spent ten days exploring the city, making collages and exhibiting our unique views in a group show curated by Bettina Homann.

The other participating collage artists: Adam Wynn, Cheryl Chudyk, Cindy Borges Warshaw, Cloé Christen, Dawn Conry, Ginger Sedlářová, Rosanne Walsh, Sebastian Mögelin & Bettina Homann.

Monica Church during at Aquabit Gallery on Auguststraße, Mitte, Berlin in the shared workspace with new collages pinned up on the wall beside her. Artists Dawn Conory (L) and Rosanne Walsh working alongside her.

Excerpt from Urban Collage by Berlinage founder Bettina Homann

“Likewise, elements of posters and notices plucked from the walls of houses, exposed to the weather, pasted over again and again, grown into papier-mâché-like structures like banks of shells on the shore of the sea. This “public paper” is Monica Church's source material. “I am trying to capture what Berlin is presenting to me” she says. Monica looks at her work skeptically. “Does it look like it was just pulled in off the street?” Only at first glance. If you take a closer look, Monica's artistic signature becomes clear. The alignment of the male and female faces in “From the Streets of Berlin,” which form a tense triangle with the cat's eye, the distribution of the red and blue pieces of paper in a clearly structured composition. The tension between the girlie appearance of pink flowers and light blue hair with the upside-down “Fuck Putin” slogan in 'Fuck Putin'. Deliberate condensations that are not created by chance. Monica’s series of works are completely unique artistic reflections of the city with the means of the found.”