Be Free

Original mixed media collage by artist Steph Assez.

Presented in an A4 frame with white mount board and signed by the artist.

This one-of-a-kind original collage centres around a vintage playing card that has been carefully burnt through at its centre, revealing a glimpse of sky beneath. Emerging through the scorched opening, a hand reaches toward a pigeon in flight, appearing to break free from the confines of the card itself.

The hand and pigeon imagery has been sourced directly from an original 1946 Picture Post magazine feature documenting the Pigeon Air Force during the Second World War. Rather than reproduced or digitally scanned, the imagery has been taken from the original publication itself, preserving the texture, age and material history of the source. The result is a singular artwork that explores themes of freedom, fragility and transformation through layered archival imagery and hand-cut materials.