Braidwood-based artist Ray Monde combines hand-torn magazine paper and painting to create richly layered 'ghost worked' collages shaped by memory, identity and place. His work draws on personal stories and the landscapes of regional Australia. A Bundanon artist-in-residence in 2024, Ray received two awards at that year's Paddington Art Prize and presented a major solo show at Maitland Regional Art Gallery in 2026.
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Ray Monde is a contemporary paper artist who primarily works with paper-mâché and collage.
Ray Monde uses a technique called ghostworking where he over-paints fragments of paper sourced from magazines with thin glazes of synthetic polymer paint so the texture and images of the magazines ghost through the paint, adding depth and complexity to his work.
Ray Monde grew up on a farm in a dairying region on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales where he plastered his bedroom wall with cutouts from glossy magazines. He completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1993 and later studied at the National Arts School, Sydney in 2012.
After a successful career in advertising in Sydney, London and New York, Monde returned to his fascination with paper.
In 2022, Monde had his first major solo exhibition in a public gallery which brought to the fore the artist’s personal experience of queerness in regional Australia.
An artist-in-residence at Bundanon in 2024, he has recently been commissioned to create public hoarding in the ACT as part of the City Renewal Authority and has a solo exhibition at Maitland Regional Art Gallery in 2026.
He has exhibited widely and his works are in collections in the USA and internationally. Twice finalist in the Blake Prize, Doug Moran Portrait Prize, National Works on Paper Award and Paddington Art Prize. He’s also recently been a finalist in the National Still Life Award and the Naked & Nude Art Prize.
His solo show, The Places That Shape Us, is on at Maitland Regional Gallery until 21 June 2026.
Ghostworked collage on canvas | 100 × 150 cm | oak framed