Collage Artist Marina Heintze Asks Americans to Put the Ballot Back in the Box

Most voters slap their free sticker on a sweater for the day, forgetting it’s there until forced to peel it from the inside of their washer. LA-based artist Marina Heintze saves her political stickers from that cruel, soggy fate. “The sticker mediums were intentionally chosen,” she says of her ongoing mixed-media series Poli-Ticks, which reflects voter data from the contested states of the 2020 presidential election with a pastiche of red, white, and blue stickers. Using patriotic symbols and phrases—American flags, “I Voted” stickers, and target paper—Marina addresses the terrifying new violence infesting the heart of contemporary politics.

“These works are really about a ‘trickle-up’ effect,” she explains. “Legislation in/action, gerrymandering, women's rights, the right to vote, and making it count.” Using her favorite tool—a sharp pair of scissors—Marina cuts and collages, pasting colorful stickers over target practice paper to create some of the unhinged works in Poli-Ticks. For other pieces she creates custom patches, sewing them across tactical gear: military vests, ammo bags, and bandolier holders. Also a long time tattoo artist, Marina’s style is bold, graphic, and impudent; she’s impatient for change, and willing to shout about it.

A selection of Marina’s work from Poli-Ticks is now on view at LA’s Maddox Gallery as part of their group exhibition Holding Up Half The Sky. Curated by Alice Teng, the show reconsiders identity and personal agency from a female artist’s point of view. “[Marina’s] works ring even more relevant today,” writes Teng, who marvels at the artist’s keen perception in her curator’s statement. Created before the fall of Roe v Wade, the works in Poli-Ticks prompt “questions about who determines a woman’s fate, her personal liberties, and the kind of life she is allowed to lead.”

Holding Up Half The Sky is on view through October 27 at Maddox Gallery. The exhibition features four works from Marina that reference the fight for bodily autonomy in conjunction with politics. They include: “Arizona (Put the Ballot Back in the Box),” “Georgia On My Mind (Put the Ballot Back in the Box),” “Michigan (Put the Ballot Back in the Box),” and “Don’t Tread on Me.” For more information, please visit the gallery here. To see the entire Poli-Ticks series, please visit Marina’s project page here.

A long time tattoo artist, Marina’s style is bold, graphic, and impudent; she’s impatient for change, and willing to shout about it.

Marina Heintze: Website | Instagram | Purchase Work

All photos published with permission of the artist(s).

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