Abstract
Collaging is a form of design that references, remixes, and transforms the past, while holding potential for queer decolonial imaginaries. Through bringing together decolonial and queer theories, we propose an exploration of collage as a design technique that seeks to tear through dominant imaginaries to create more emancipatory visualizations. To explore this, we first turn to feminist theoretical understandings of collage, and then ask: how does collaging show up as a distinctly queer and decolonial design practice? Then, we utilize examples from our field work to demonstrate how collage can function as a queer and decolonial design practice that shows up in everyday life. Finally, we take these observations to our pedagogical practices and illustrate how making collages in the classroom generates an embodied practice that not only deepens understandings of queer and decolonial theory, but also visualizes alternate futures.
Keywords
queer futures, decolonial design, collage, decolonial theory
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2770
Citation
Eleazar, A., and Flores, C. (2026) Collaging queer decolonial worlds: Applied techniques in design, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2770
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Collaging queer decolonial worlds: Applied techniques in design
Collaging is a form of design that references, remixes, and transforms the past, while holding potential for queer decolonial imaginaries. Through bringing together decolonial and queer theories, we propose an exploration of collage as a design technique that seeks to tear through dominant imaginaries to create more emancipatory visualizations. To explore this, we first turn to feminist theoretical understandings of collage, and then ask: how does collaging show up as a distinctly queer and decolonial design practice? Then, we utilize examples from our field work to demonstrate how collage can function as a queer and decolonial design practice that shows up in everyday life. Finally, we take these observations to our pedagogical practices and illustrate how making collages in the classroom generates an embodied practice that not only deepens understandings of queer and decolonial theory, but also visualizes alternate futures.