Benedict Cumberbatch Collage

Within her Arts Practice, Danielle Vaughan explores sexuality, gender roles and celebrity status through her use of ripped papers, fabrics and paint. With a background in Design, Vaughan began her assemblage /collages as an exploration of her early experiences of a childhood in a frugal and misandrist environment. In her portraits she recasts men as boys with their illusion of power and her females with the parts of femme fatales. In an abstract way this can also be viewed within her landscapes and wildlife images through her use of deliberate text within the layers of ripped and torn paper. This art peels away the layers of conventional art processes and invites the viewer to investigate past the surface image to the darker levels underpinning the façade. Vaughan plays with surprises , with ‘gallow humour” and pathos at play in both images and titles. She has made appearances on both television and radio and recently appeared on Sky’s ‘Portrait Artist of the Year’ (January 2018) where Noel Fielding chose her portrait to take home. Vaughan has a strong desire for equality of access to quality arts experiences for everyone and has developed an extensive participatory practice alongside her own work.