I am really drawn to the juxtaposition in John's work, the black and white photographs with vibrant ethnic photographs peeking out in the background. There is just something magical about the quiet monochrome images being interrupted by waves of colour, trying to get through to the surface. He has a pretty good array of work, take a look at his website for more!

John Sloan
http://www.cargocollective.com/johnsloanartwork
Originally from Birmingham, Alabama. Currently residing in Cincinnati, Ohio

Describe your work in 10 words or less.

An exploration of lost memories through other's images.

What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!

Art books, documentary photography books, found objects, and pretty much anything I can get my hands on from a mixed media aspect.

How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?

I started using the medium of collage about three years ago when I came across a large amounts of magazines at my high school in Birmingham. I ended up using the found magazines in some of my high school work but never anything serious. Later when I moved to Cincinnati, Evan Lautzenheizer, one of the housemates I live with at Smokehaus (the name of the collective of artist that reside in the apartment I live at in Over the Rhine) was utilizing collage in his own personal work which then inspired me to pick back up the use of collage within my work.

Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?

I am a student at the Art Academy of Cincinnati working on my BFA which then I plan on going on to grad school to later teach while practicing my art. Currently I am a barista at the local coffee shop in Over the Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati just trying to make some money to finance my art making.

Do you have any formal art training?

Before coming to Cincinnati I had taken a few art classes in high school but never really anything that important that inspired me to create my own personal work. Since arriving in Cincinnati I have been pushed to create more and more personal work along with my school work at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

Explain your favourite techniques.

One of my favorite techniques is the actual searching and finding of the images that are later used in the collage. The simple process of finding the images happens to be a therapeutic recollection of my past from the association of other's images that correlate to past memories that seem to have been forgotten.

Describe your favourite piece ever created.

Not really sure about my favourite piece. Normally I view my pieces as all being important to me because they relate to my past and helps me understand myself better through the past and where I came from during my childhood that has further been forgotten.

What other artists do you admire?

My housemates in Smokehaus and artists such as Josef Albers, Yves Klein, and Joseph Beuys.

Thanks John!