The Frankenstein Residency 2023

The Frankenstein Residency 2023:

The Kolaj Institute’s Frankenstein Residency was launched in 2023 as a part of their wider collage and illustration programme. I was fascinated to take part in this project as it aligned with my interest in monsters as source of meaning and mystery; and with my growing interest in the intersection between collage and literary practices.

I began reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein during the summer of 2023 in preparation for the upcoming residency that October. Knowing that I would be illustrating passages from the book changed my reading of it, I found myself searching for resonant scenes within the pages and within my mind. I found that attending to the book in this way made for a far more visual experience. This was aided of course by Shelley’s own poetically rich descriptions of the inner landscapes of her protagonists as well as the world that move through.

I was particularly fascinated with the powerful nemesis relationship between Victor and the Creature, the Creature’s initial innocence, wonderment and sense of alienation at the world; and Victor’s own personal obsession with proto-scientific fields such as Natural Philosophy and Alchemy. The novel itself defies clear classification, and is at times even biographical, dealing with themes that Mary Shelley encountered in her own life. Such as parental and child loss, a dream of overcoming death, familial alienation and of course the sociopolitical contexts of her time.

The residency itself promoted deep and varied discussions of the text, encouraged collaborative practices and resulted in a large body of work. The work itself is now available in form of the Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Kolaj Edition book and as a limited edition Folio of Prints which are available from the Kolaj Institute for both purchase and exhibition.

We recently gathered together in April of 2025 to discuss the residency process, collaboration and the special nature of collage as it was applied to illustrating this book. Thank you to our emcee Anissa Malady and to San Francisco Public Library for hosting. You can check out that panel discussion here.

Featured Creatures Include:
Claire Dannenbaum (Eugene, Oregon, USA) | Emily Denlinger (Cape Girardeau, Missouri, USA) | Suzanne Greenberg (New York, New York, USA) | David Edward Johnson (Skaneateles, New York, USA) | Marta Janik (Warsaw, Poland) | Anthony D Kelly (Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland) | Maureen Letton (San Francisco, California, USA) | Anissa Malady (San Francisco, California, USA) | Rebecca Steiner (Lyme, Connecticut, USA) | Jessica TranVo (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) | Anthony Naimo (Spruce Pine, North Carolina, USA) | Elzbieta Zdunek (Berlin, Germany)

*The Frankenstein crew are still in contact and our work has most recently been exhibited at the San Francisco Public Library in April 2025.