Mat Maitland’s new book presents 15 years of surrealist-pop collages

If Mat Maitland’s collages were a person, they’d be the loudest in the room. Vibrant and playful, these montages are a dynamic fusion of juxtapositions: futurism and nostalgia; pop and politics; realism and surrealism. Mat follows a long tradition of image-makers that have used photomontage to commentate on the culture of their time. Taking inspiration from fashion, art and music, Mat’s credited as a pioneer in the resurgence of the medium in the early noughties, and his images have appeared on countless album covers, and in the pages of glossies like Vogue, Document, Interview and Vanity Fair.

Now, Mat’s most popular pieces from the last 15 years are presented in a single tome published by Art Paper Editions, titled Collages For Magazines. “I’d been carrying the title in my mind for quite some time, inspired by Brian Eno’s Music For Airports and Music For Films,” he says. Many first appeared in magazines, but for the book design “we decided to go in the opposite direction”, he says. Rather than featuring full-bleed images, they envisioned the publication as a catalogue. “The work itself is quite dense and colourful, so we felt that white space and careful framing were essential to give each image its own moment and prevent the pages from feeling cluttered or overwhelming.” The cover is equally simple but bold: Mat’s handwriting embossed in acid yellow on grey cloth. “It captures both sides of my aesthetic – the playful, pop influence and a more restrained, timeless feel.”

As well as being an artist, Mat has led an illustrious career as a creative director. He started out as a designer at Warner Bros Records, before joining the renowned Big Active agency in the noughties. Since then, he’s worked on iconic campaigns for artists like Basement Jaxx, Michael Jackson, Prince, Lana Del Rey, and Elton John.

In the early days, Mat’s collage experiments were mostly tied to music projects. One of his earliest commissions was an album cover for Goldfrapp’s 2003 album Black Cherry. “The style was deliberately raw and loose, matching the tone of that record,” he says. “As I began creating collages independently, outside of commercial work, I wanted to refine and elevate the style.” Mat recalls his desire to break away from conventional ideas of collage, the “typical hand-cut, retro-based psychedelia”. Instead, he envisioned his work sitting alongside fashion photography – and they eventually did. One highlight from his new book is a collaboration with Mario Sorrenti and Sarah Richardson on a cover story for Document.

Mat describes his process as “intuitive and often unplanned”. This reflects in the book’s sequence, a cadence of images that are dynamic and surprising. “I want people to experience the same sense of spontaneity and discovery that I feel while creating these works,” he reflects. “No one has seen my work together like this before – many may not have seen much of it at all. So, while it spans 15 years of my career, I also see it as an introduction to my visual world.”