* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
Michael Waraksa is a Chicago based artist/illustrator and a graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. He has exhibited his work at various venues around the United States and his illustrations have been published in numerous magazines and newspapers including The New York Times, TIME and The Los Angeles Times. His work has also been selected to appear in Communication Arts, 3×3 Magazine, American Illustration and Society of Illustrators.
Michael explains the work by saying, “I see collage as a form of recycling. I am attempting to build something new and unexpected by layering and juxtaposing a variety of disparate elements together. Scraps of text, photographic material from books, magazines and the web, my own photography and drawings along with items fished out of the trash or found blowing in the wind may all find their way into the mix. I allow any preconceived ideas to take impulsive detours as my final destination is purposely vague. Nature, history, technology, advertising and dreams are some reoccurring themes and influences but much of the direction is driven by my subconscious and simple reaction to the elements at hand. Any meaning is mostly open ended and the viewer is encouraged to fill in the blanks.”.
