Who?

Who are you? Please tell us a bit about you and your artistic journey.

My real name is Leticia Jiménez but for over 25 years I have used the nickname Letypage, after the pin-up Bettie Page, I loved her image and her last name ‘Page’ because well, it’s basically what I work with.

My relationship with art has been present all my life. Ever since I was very young I’ve drawn and also painted, especially in oils. I studied Fine Arts at university and I’ve been trained in Design and Editorial Production. When I was young, the artistic discipline in which I expressed myself the best was photography, both film or digital, then as time went by I discovered artists who used collage as a medium of expression in their work, circumstantially or completely and I became interested in this language, although I started to develop my work later.

For years I participated in collage marathons and took part in different projects such as “Los Días Contados”, a project where every day we started from a common image, each one of us made a collage with the same image and then posted it on a blog. Seeing the number of different interpretations of the same image was where I really got caught up in the communication potential of collage. It was like a master-class of hundreds of collages being made. When I moved to Madrid I worked in an advertising agency, where one of my colleagues, Sr. García, an excellent collagist who is well known in our country, introduced me to the collagist group “Sociedad de Collage de Madrid” and from there I learnt a lot.

My Instagram account started to fill up with those collages and I was fortunate to start getting requests to illustrate album covers, books and event posters, which gave me more visibility and the opportunity to keep learning.

Nowadays I continue to do commercial commissions of all kinds, I sell my work in specific shops and underground galleries,
I participate in exhibitions and above all I continue to work as a means of artistic and personal expression.

Escape 1

Escape 2

Who are your influences?

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of collage is the work of the punk artists of the 70s. My influences are based on the underground scene and the DIY ethic, where everything that is considered waste is used and forgotten objects are given a new life.

Linder Sterling would be my number one influence and I adore Vivienne Westwood’s fashion-related universe, as well as my main
job as a fashion photo retoucher which provides me with a fairly steady salary.

I follow the Guerrilla Girls project and I like the content as much as the visuals. All of the punk, rock and new-wave bands from the 70’s that have women in their line-up are a big inspiration for my work.

What?

What are your objectives when you’re collaging - what are you trying to achieve?

It depends a bit on the mood of the moment. Sometimes I want to dignify an image or concept, like the role of women in advertising and society in the mid-20th century with my animated series “Fuck the Galán” or “Entretelas”. Other times I like to create worlds where I would like to live, like the floating beds “Places I would like to sleep”. Other times I’d like to know what an alternative reality would look like, for example if cats had human parts, like the images I created for the feral cat shelter La Mar de Gatos and my band Fluffy Monsters where I play the drums. I’m very interested in creating thematic series, it gives me the opportunity to work with objectives. Limits are liberating, and I like to see them as a whole.

In these cases I consider the work finished when there is a series of collages that work as a group that support each other, and I think it allows me more space to tell a story.

What does collage mean to you?

It’s an escape release valve, it keeps me in balance, energised and gets me off the computer. In my collage world everything is fine, it’s my private refuge and as I’m a bit of a solitary person, events and exhibitions motivate me to get out of the studio and share experiences with other artists. It’s all beneficial.

Fuck the Galan red

Fuck the Galan yellow

Why?

Why are you drawn to collage over any other medium?

Photography, editorial and advertising are the foundation of my studies, interests and work. Combined with my love of collecting vintage magazines and catalogues, there could be no other medium with which I feel more comfortable. I can practice it without the need of specialised spaces and, although sometimes the studio becomes a small chaos of clippings, it is easy to pick up and clear away the mess. The necessary tools are accessible and cutting with scissors or knives relaxes me.

To find an image that I like or has potential for a piece of work activates my creativity, encourages me to look for more images to combine and saves me the fear of the blank page. I have to admit that I work better with certain limitations. I also think it’s a perfect way of recycling, I don’t make copies of my original collages, I always sell the original artwork.

Where?

Where do you produce your work?

When I lived in Madrid I used to work from the co-working space I shared with another colleague, and at home I also did it occasionally in my free time. Now that I live in a small town with a bigger house, I have my studio at home and
I do all my production from there.

Where do you source your materials from?

I have always bought things at flea markets and thrift shops, searching for material is one of my hobbies and I find treasures at very affordable prices.

I also buy home decoration and furniture in these places, so whenever I see a second hand shop, I can spend hours browsing. I used to have them just around the corner in Madrid, but now I don’t have them so close, so buying and selling apps have become my main supplier. It’s rare that I buy materials that are expensive, there is a huge amount of first class material that is about to be thrown away and they almost give it to me for free, that’s the best material.

When?

When do you produce your work?

I don’t have a regular schedule or a preference for certain hours of the day. It also depends on how much free time my retouching work or other personal commitments leave me, so I start cutting whenever I have free time and I can spend an hour or the whole day, I just let myself go.

How?

How do you produce your collages? Please tell us about your process.

I usually start with an image from a vintage magazine that catches my eye and that I think I can transform to give it a new narrative. Once I have that base, I start looking for other images for the composition. Sometimes I look
for something specific and sometimes I just browse through pages until I find what I wasn’t looking for.

I generally use scissors of different sizes, cutters and glue sticks, but before the final paste I use soft masking tape to try out assemblies before making the final decision.

Collecting antique frames is another of my hobbies in line with my artwork. I buy them in the same places as the collage material
and they allow me to add the final touch to
my work. Occasionally I experiment with very basic animations, just enough to give motion that completes the collage. I scan the analogue material and animate it digitally.

How do you promote your work?

Instagram is my main promotional medium, it’s where I post all the work I want to show and where you can find all the links to see and buy my artwork. It’s also social media where I get inspired by following other artists. I love to participate in challenges like Februllage, February is one of my favourite months and seeing the interpretation of other collagists is for me, one of the best ways to learn.

Whenever I have the chance, I enter competitions where I think my work will fit in and the awards provide a lot of visibility. That’s how I’ve been able to get published in editorial media, show my work in Helsinki and do this interview which is definitely my best promotion so far ;)

A few years ago my partner and I self-published LEJA #1, a fanzine of stories and collages, I make stickers, T-shirts, bags and this year is the first time that I’ve made an illustrated calendar with my collages. I don’t like making prints of my works, but I love merchandising, I find it a very fun and useful way of reproducing the original piece.

How does collage make you feel when you’re in the process of creating?

Like following the white rabbit.