Biography
British artist Colin David Clarke is the owner of strayltd, best known for creating contemporary collage artworks that tell stories with depth and context. Working with free association techniques inherent in a collage art practice, he intuitively follows a trail of unconscious thought triggered by the relationship between different collage pieces. Referencing music memorabilia, museum websites, cultural magazines, or even other artists through his source material, he adds context to the narratives found in each artwork. Examples include a depiction of Adam and Eve made from pieces of i-D.vice.com, and portraits of the Queen made from pieces of UK punk memorabilia.
Focussing on a trail of unconscious thought and being less concerned with an aesthetic, he often leaves his collages roughly cut. In more recent artworks, Clarke has taken this a step further with digital collage elements that are roughly stretched, folded and creased in three dimensional space to create 3D collages which are often animated. In contrast to his unrefined visual approach, his artworks possess a richly defined narrative obtained from the creative use of free association and contextual source material.
As he has noted, “Analysing my art involves a process similar to that of a waking person dissecting a dream, where each artwork evokes the sensation of being newly discovered, just waiting to be found within the source material”
A strong advocate of digital art, Clarke employs a digitally native language, creating captivating short-form looping videos that last only seconds but which can be watched for many minutes. His pieces address a technologically literate audience at a moment when debates surrounding artificial and human creativity have become increasingly polarised. In doing so, his work asserts that digital art remains fundamentally human, and that meaning, emotional resonance, and “soul” emerge through the intentions and sensibilities of the artist. More recently he has even attempted to follow this ethos by creating generative AI artworks made through free association.
Born in London, England, Clarke studied at Chelsea School of Art and University of the Creative Arts, gaining an honours degree. He now lives and works in London and Hamburg as a freelance artist and art director. Notably he has received commissions from Grammy Award winning musicians The Mars Volta, creating seven dream themed collage artworks made from pieces of The Mars Volta record covers for the legacy box set La Realidad De Los Sueños (2021); the 12 inch record Eunuch Provocateur (2021); and A Plague Upon Your Hissing Children (2021). He has also made a series of nine biographically themed collage artworks from pieces of Omar Rodríguez-López record covers for the legacy quadruple box set Amor De Frances (2023). More recently he has created the generative ai short film Astropoeticon 15 (2026), commissioned for the 100th birthday celebrations of computer art pioneer and acclaimed author Herbert W. Franke.
Notable artworks include a sold out debut crypto art collection, ‘77 Portraits of The Queen (2022), made from pieces of UK punk memorabilia and released in protest at the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Later reviving the same source material for Come The Revolution We Will All Be Kings For The Day (2023) in protest at the coronation of King Charles III. His short-form video Hello Herbert (2024), made from pieces of artworks by Herbert W. Franke, has been published by Stiftung Herbert W. Franke, and presented at Deutsches Museum, Munich, during Festival Of The Future (2026). Perhaps most significantly, his 3D collage Self-Portrait In A Convex Manner (2024) is represented in the permanent collection of Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Austria.
Clarke’s practice gives him the versatility to inhabit a diverse range of gallery spaces, and he has exhibited in small group shows around the world alongside his contemporaries. Notable artworks have been displayed next to crypto art pioneers at the Tong Gallery in China (2022); record cover artists at Reeperbahn Festival in Germany (2022); immersive artists at Planetariums in Germany (2024/25/26); contemporary digital artists at Beeple’s Studios, USA (2025); and British contemporary artists at Hastings Contemporary, UK (2026).
Resumé
Colin David Clarke | @strayltd
Profession | Artist and Art Director
Born | London, England
Education
University of the Creative Arts
BA (Hons) Graphic Design
Exhibition at Royal Society of Arts
Chelsea School of Art
Art Foundation
Exhibition at Chelsea School of Art
Alumni of University of Arts London
Group Exhibitions
2026 Festival Of The Future, Stiftung Herbert W. Franke, Deutsches Museum, Munich, DE
2026 Chance Encounters: Art Through Accident and Invitation, Fringe Arts Bath, Bath, UK
2026 Odyssey, Hastings Contemporary, Hastings, UK
2025 Select Start, Beeple’s Studios, South Carolina, USA
2025 Contact Attempt, Stiftung Herbert W. Franke, Planetarium Jena, Jena, DE
2025 Contact Attempt, Stiftung Herbert W. Franke, Planetarium Bochum, Bochum, DE
2024 Contact Attempt, Stiftung Herbert W. Franke, Planetarium Hamburg, Hamburg, DE
2024 Intl All Media, Minot University, Walter Piehl Gallery, Northwest Arts Centre, USA
2024 Continuum, Accelerate Art, High Tech Campus, Eindhoven, NL
2023 Artist Showcase, NFT.NYC, Javits Center, Hudson Yards, New York, USA
2022 InBetween, Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg, DE
2022 Birth Of New Tools, Tong Gallery, Beijing, CN
Notable Collections
2024 Self-Portrait In A Convex Manner, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Austria, Permanent Collection
2022 ‘77 Portraits Of The Queen, XCOPY, Private Collection
2021 Adam & Eve & Adam & Eve & Adam & Eve, TokenAngels, Private Collection
2021 The Sun Goddess Emerges From DNS 104.16.240.242, Jane Rogers, Private Collection
Appearances & Publications
2025 Contact Attempt, Stiftung Herbert W. Franke, FullDome Publication
2024 Art Aperitivo, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Podcast Interview
2022 All The Rage, NFT Magazine, Collectible NFT Cover
2021 La Realidad De Los Sueños - Behind The Scenes, Clouds Hill, Video Interview
2021 La Realidad De Los Sueños, The Mars Volta Podcast, Podcast Interview
Commissions
2026 Astropoeticon 15, Stiftung Herbert W. Franke, Generative AI Short Film and FullDome Film
2025 Legacy Of A Visionary, Stiftung Herbert W. Franke, 30 second TVC
2025 No Pasarán, Breaking Fuel, 3D Printed Masks
2023 Amor De Frances, Omar Rodríguez-López, Legacy Box Set
2021 La Realidad De Los Sueños, The Mars Volta, Legacy Box Set
2021 A Plague Upon Your Hissing Children, The Mars Volta, Limited Edition 12” Single
2021 Eunuch Provocateur, The Mars Volta, Limited Edition 12” Single
2021 Landscape Tantrums, The Mars Volta, Album
2021 Inertiatic ESP, The Mars Volta, Single
2020 The Clouds Hill Tapes, Omar Rodríguez-López, Triple Album Box Set
2020 Winter’s Gone, Omar Rodríguez-López, Single
Testimonials
“Your artwork will make an important contemporary contribution to our collection”
Sabine Haag | Director General | Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
“His approach to Astropoeticon immensely enriches the transformation of Herbert’s philosophical poems”
Susanne Päch | Founder | Stiftung Herbert W. Franke
“Stumbled across Queenies and scrambled to unlock my ledger. Banger.”
XCOPY | Cryptoart Pioneer
“La Realidad De Los Sueños, resembles some kind of trippy, seemingly bottomless treasure chest”
Rolling Stone | April 2021
“His work is cool”
Omar Rodríguez-López | Musician | The Mars Volta