Thomas Danthony's waterfall collages return in a new limited edition book

Long-time fans will undoubtedly be familiar with how artist and illustrator Thomas is influenced by the great outdoors. Having studied industrial design at university, he now marries his passions for climbing and exploring with his artistic eye to create simplified shapes that capture the essence of natural phenomena, including, of course, Waterfalls.

"Waterfalls first drew my attention at the end of 2019," Thomas explains. "Although their verticality felt familiar, their constant motion was new and captivating. Unidirectional, their stream sculpts the land they run through, slowly smoothing the resistances that give them shape. A waterfall is never the same, and I decided the best way to capture them was to use hand movements to create flow, aiming to find beauty in surprise.

"The result is this meditative series of collage on paper, in which water inevitably finds its way creating ever-changing wonders."

And by the looks of it, Thomas has perfectly captured the constantly shifting shape of waterfalls in his collages. Initially released in July 2021 as an online-only exhibition due to the pandemic, the Waterfalls series makes fantastic use of form and colour to communicate the cascading, flowing appearance of a waterfall as it cleaves its way through rocks.

By restricting his colour palette and playing with texture and composition, Thomas can achieve a variety of waterfalls very effectively. While some appear to be little more than thin trickles that slip down a cliff face, others are broad, roaring torrents that seem to surge over the landscape with intent.

Comprising of 21 images, Waterfalls is an excellent chance to experience Thomas' wonderful collages if you didn't get to experience them via the digital exhibition on his dedicated website. "Despite not being able to see the artwork, in reality, I think the digital exhibition permitted a different experience," Thomas tells Creative Boom.

"It's also interesting to allow collectors from around the world to have the same access to an exhibition, and I think coupling physical and digital exhibition could be a nice way to approach shows in the future."

A year after putting the site offline, Thomas felt that it would be a good idea to make the show more permanent by designing the Waterfalls book. "It took a bit of time to get it right, and fast forward six months I am thrilled to finally introduce the limited edition book."

If you want to get your hands on Waterfalls, you better be quick. The set is limited to a hand-numbered run of 100 copies, printed with HP Indigo digital offset on Fedrigoni Arena. Pick up your copy from Thomas' shop.