The Daily Splice
Adam Hale is a UK-based collage artist and animator who utilizes images cut from magazines and publications to create surreal collages – 'splices' – which he shares on Instagram as The Daily Splice.
He began collecting and cutting up magazines in 2015 which he came upon during his daily commutes to and from his marketing job in London, publishing his experiments and narratives on Instagram. In a few years his side project was distracting him from his day job, as he was getting editorial collage commissions from Elle, Cosmopolitan, and French Connection. He left his job at that point to concentrate full-time on commissions, collaborations, and his daily experiments.
Learn about his process, what inspires him, and what he’s listening to in the studio, below.
1757 📸 Capture the moment
I think it was early 2017 when you started showing the process by using the IG slideshow option, this is around the time of 502 - Liz. I guess this is not a question, but a thank you. Like all your followers, I love seeing your process, glimpses into the layers and where the pieces came from. Thank you for bringing us along in the creations.
You’re very welcome! I hope that by showing how basic my process is it inspires people to try collage art, or perhaps pursue something they’ve been reluctant to try. There are artists who conceal their process and present only the final piece, and they have every right to do that, however with collage art I think there’s more to be gained in showing how a piece came together in the first place.
What are your favorite publications for source material? Do you have countless subscriptions delivered to you each week?
When I started The Daily Splice in 2015 I collected free magazines during my commute into London each day so I’d have a steady supply of the latest print ads and fashion imagery to compliment the images I already had at home. These days I simply buy magazines from shops when I need them and focus on variety - subscriptions might limit the content I receive so I’ve only ever briefly signed up to them.
Do you have a filing system where you keep potential images to use? How do you keep that organized? Boxes, binders?
On the wall of my office I have a set of magazine racks that can hold around 100 magazines in total. I used to have several hundred piled up on the floor and I couldn’t access them easily - it got out of control so now I only keep the amount that can fit in the racks and throw away the older or less useful ones. I also have two small boxes, one containing torn out pages of potential cuttings, and the other containing actual cuttings that are waiting to be used.
“What appeals to me now is bringing motion, and the element of surprise, to my existing aesthetic.”
— Adam Hale
How has your process changed since 2015? What has remained the same?
When it comes to my daily collages, nothing has changed at all since 2015, and that’s very deliberate. I never set out to be a collage artist, I was interested in vector illustration but the process didn’t suit me - I’d spend a week meticulously perfecting an illustration and then take a step back and be disappointed with the result. I tried collage and was immediately impressed with how quickly I could experiment and move on to new ideas. The simplicity of the process has remained the same however I’ve added new skills, such as animation, to help run The Daily Splice as a business.
As you began getting editorial jobs with magazines like Elle and Cosmopolitan, did your collage-making 'side hustle' become your full-time job at some point? Tell me about that evolution.
I was working as a marketing manager when I began to receive magazine and brand commissions for collage artwork and of course I was flattered. I couldn’t say no to anyone so I became very busy juggling a full-time job with this additional work - luckily this was before I had kids so it was just a case of taking no days off. By 2017 the decision to quit my marketing job was a no-brainer as it was holding me back, and I’ve been working for myself ever since.
I've noticed more and more animations in your work. How has that process and workflow evolved over the years?
I remember experimenting with animation as a student and being far too impatient to enjoy the stop-motion technique but I got to grips with the basics of Adobe After Effects. Fast forward several years and I realized the individual layers of a collage could so easily be imported and animated, and the initial experiments were a great success. What appeals to me now is bringing motion, and the element of surprise, to my existing aesthetic. I’m learning new things all the time and aim to make longer animations, as I’ve always focused on short loops. When I get the time I’ll create a music video as a proof-of-concept and hopefully create something original along the way.
Keep Your Distance
What are some of your favorite past or current collaborations or projects?
My favorite collab of all time was the initial Adidas commission I received when I first started out. I couldn’t believe I was getting paid to create artwork for a brand I’d idolized all my life. They supplied source-imagery and gave me a very loose brief which I ran with, and I’m still very proud of the outcome. Another project I’ll never forget is last year’s Louis Vuitton commission for static- and animated- collages. Again I was trusted with a very loose brief and I was able to have fun with it.
Who would you love to collaborate with if you could?
I’d love to work with and evolve the visual identity of a musical artist / group throughout their career like Peter Saville did with Joy Division / New Order, and Storm Thorgerson did with Pink Floyd.
When you sleep, do you dream in collages and mashups? Have you ever jumped out of bed in the middle of the night because you got an idea or vision you had to create?
It’s funny you should mention that, as I’ve always had trouble falling asleep - unless I have something to focus on (such as an audiobook) my mind will go off on tangents and yes, I often make notes when ideas come to me. The list of ideas is stacking up and only a fraction of them have seen the light of day - lots to keep me going over the next few years.
Your splicing hobby became your current career. What hobbies or activities do you turn to now to get away from your daily cutting and arranging?
I have two sons under the age of 3 so they keep my wife and I very busy! I’ve also taken up mountain biking which is a great break from collage art and computer screens, while getting an intense workout.
1806 - Visionary
Have you had any art showings of the originals you create?
Surprisingly no (not yet anyway), but it’s something I’ve considered many times over the years. I’ve recently started experimenting with mixed media canvases and abstract painting which I’ve become more and more interested in recently. I think my intricate little collages displayed alongside large format paintings would create a nice juxtaposition, so I’d love to put a show together in the not too distant future.
What are some upcoming projects or collaborations? What's next for you?
I recently created a set of animations for British fashion brand Lulu Guinness and they’re currently going live on social media. There are also a few upcoming editorial commissions for European magazines soon to be published. Other than that, I have a long list of personal projects I want to get off the ground, including the animations I mentioned earlier, as well as the mixed media canvases which will be a new way to express my creative ideas!
I’m interested in what you listen to in the studio while you work on your collages and animations. Got a playlist you can share?
Here’s a playlist on Spotify, just a few of the tracks that help me get into the creative mindset. Enjoy!