[NSFW] Raunchy Collages Merge Politics and Porn

A collage artist’s browser history reveals a lot about the subjects that obsess them. For Jacqueline Mak, whose collages engage themes such as consumerism, objectification, and body politics, this translates to an NSFW treasure trove. “I have a very sleazy retro archive,” she admits to Creators, “and when I’m not looking at porn or pin-up illustrations, thrift stores, Value Village, and Kijiji are my friends.”

From this unconventional research come compilations that bring out the humor and brutality of modern dilemmas. Take, for instance, Breastful of Meat, one of the works from Mak’s newest series, Let’s Eat. The series is described by the artist as “an allegory of morbid consumption.” In Breastful of Meat, against a pleasant mint green background, feminine hands with painted red nails cradle a gory glob of raw meat, truncated breasts, and spring roses.

Still, the messages behind Mak’s work aren’t overwrought. Maybe the artist is trying to make a statement about religious censorship, or maybe she was just wondered, as we all do, what a pope would look like with panties on his head.

Mak’s hyperactive imagination has gravitated towards this type of creative expression from a very young age. “I drew nipples on Berenstain Bears when I was five,” she says. “In high school, the vice principal had to ask my art teacher to get rid of stenciled neon cocks I printed on the walls.” Mak says that the world of NSFW is “an area I feel most comfortable with because it’s cheeky, visceral, raw, unforgiving and it is what it is.”

While relatively new to collage—she discovered her talent for it only last year after realizing her time working in the marketing industry had “sucked her creativity dry”—Mak has much she wants to take on through the art form. “There’s so much that could be done and [so many] topics to tackle: human trafficking, pedophilia, the human gaze, addiction, sexual trauma, mental health issues,” she says, “It’s all a gigantic puzzle that is riddled with NSFW content.”

Below, see more of Jacqueline Mak’s wonderfully explicit artworks.

For more of Jacqueline Mak’s work, check out her website.

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