Beyond Collage: The Making of Les Mondes Composés

The Composed Worlds

Les Mondes Composés began with a desire to take portraiture beyond the visible. The painted female face and figure have always been central to my work. Yet in these new pieces, the portrait is no longer the entire story. Each muse becomes the centre of a carefully constructed world, a layered environment shaped by botanicals, jewellery, fashion, poetry, history, astronomy and fragments of imagined lives. These works are often described as collages, but that word alone does not fully capture what they are. They are drawn, painted, assembled and composed. Every work brings together different techniques, materials, sources and periods, while the hand-painted portrait remains its emotional and visual foundation.

Searching Through Archives

The process begins with collecting. I search through digital archives for images that speak to the world I am building. One important source has been Rijksstudio, the digital collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where artists and makers are encouraged to discover, download and creatively reuse images from the museum’s collection. I might find a botanical illustration, an antique jewel, a scientific drawing or a historical object that introduces an unexpected narrative. These archival fragments carry traces of another time. Once removed from their original context and placed beside a contemporary painted muse, they begin to acquire new meanings.

Not every image I imagine can be found in an archive. For certain elements, I therefore use artificial intelligence to create specific visual material. AI is one source among many, not the maker of the finished artwork. The generated images become physical material that I print, select, cut, position and transform by hand.

I also incorporate fragments of vintage French-language books. A line of text, the aged colour of the paper or a partially visible sentence can introduce another voice into the composition. Some words remain readable; others become texture, memory or suggestion.

Meticulously Made by Hand

After printing and gathering the different elements, I cut each individual form out by hand, often using a tiny pair of nail scissors. It is slow, meticulous work. Leaves, petals, chains, gemstones and other intricate shapes are carefully separated from their backgrounds before they can become part of the composition. I then begin arranging the fragments around the painted muse. Elements are moved, removed and repositioned repeatedly. The relationship between two images can change the atmosphere of an entire work. A flower may soften a gesture; a constellation may open the composition into infinity; an archival object may suggest a history that is never fully explained. Painting, drawing and assembled imagery gradually become one world. The result is neither purely a painting nor simply a collage. It is a mixed-media portrait in which every layer contributes to the identity, power and mystery of the woman at its centre.

Building Worlds Around Women

At the heart of Les Mondes Composés is my fascination with women and the worlds they carry within them. These are worlds created around women, for women and in celebration of femininity and female sovereignty. They speak of beauty, intelligence, sensuality, curiosity, resilience and the freedom to define oneself. But the collection is not intended to exclude the male gaze or the male collector. Female power is not meaningful only to women. These works invite anyone to recognise the force, complexity and humanity of the figures they encounter.

A man looking at these portraits may recognise a partner, a mother, a daughter, a muse, or qualities within himself that are not confined by gender. The feminine, in these works, is not presented as the opposite of strength. It is one of its most compelling forms.

Beauty as Compositional Power

The title Les Mondes Composés refers to the way these worlds are physically constructed, but it also connects to my belief in beauty as compositional power. Beauty is not passive. Nor is it merely decorative. It is created through decisions: what is revealed, what is concealed, which histories are preserved and which elements are brought together. Archival imagery meets artificial imagination. Painted skin meets aged paper. Botanicals grow beside jewels, fragments of poetry and distant constellations. Each element retains something of its original identity, yet becomes part of a completely new visual language. Every muse inhabits her own universe. Every element has been chosen. Every world has been composed.

Experience Les Mondes Composés in Person

The depth, texture and intricate layering of these artworks can only be fully appreciated in person. Details reveal themselves slowly: the edges of hand-cut paper, variations in the painted surface, fragments of text and subtle shifts between historical and imagined imagery. You are warmly invited to visit my studio in Rotterdam and experience the works up close.

Discover the complete collection: https://wendybuiter.com/les-mondes-composes/

To arrange a private studio appointment, email hello@wendybuiter.com, visit the contact page or click the WhatsApp button on my website.