Decollage

Decollage is a visual art technique in which layers of posters, advertisements, or other printed materials are removed or torn away from a surface to reveal underlying imagery, colors, or textures. It is often described as the inverse of collage, since the creation emerges from subtraction rather than addition.

The practice arose in postwar Europe and became associated with the Nouveau Réalisme movement in France. Italian artist Mimmo Rotella is credited with developing the approach in the late 1950s by tearing posters from urban walls to expose successive layers. French artists such as Jacques Villeglé and Raymond Hains further refined the method, collecting fragments from city streets and composing new works from the torn material. The resulting pieces emphasize the history of urban advertising and the passage of time within public spaces.

Techniques vary but share a focus on removing material rather than attaching it. Methods include tearing, peeling, scraping, or sanding away layers, sometimes with the fragments mounted on canvas or board, sometimes left as a raw, layered surface. The resulting imagery can be highly textual and abstract, revealing patterns and textures from the original posters as well as the surfaces beneath.

In English, the term is often written decollage or décollage in French. The practice is related to detournement and other forms of appropriation, given its emphasis on found materials and critique of mass media. Decollage has influenced contemporary street art, installation work, and explorations of surface, memory, and urban change.