Layla Messkoub (born 1983) lives and works in New Orleans and received her BA from Columbia University in May 2006. Upon receiving her degree from Columbia, Layla was awarded a Critical Language Scholarship which allowed her to spend three months in Tajikistan (Central Asia) where she continued to develop her work. Her work employs techniques of traditional woodcut printmaking as well as mixed media collage. These collages incorporate hand drawn elements as well as woodcuts that have been printed on varied papers, cut, and then reassembled. Her most recent body of work features an additional layer of texture as each collage is hand embroidered.

She continues exhibit regularly and participate in residencies in the southeast region of the U.S.
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One of my earliest memories is of discovering obscure objects on nature walks that I would cache in my pockets as precious, clandestine treasures. My collection of curios ranged from odd-shaped woodchips found on the playground to smooth beach pebbles. Each was carefully wrapped in a sheet of tissue, each a secret pleasure. When alone, I would slowly unwrap all of my treasures and line them up side by side, delighting in their respective unusual qualities.

This fascination never left me. I continued to build my cabinet of curios but began to conceive narratives between these seemingly incongruous objects. Instead of just collecting these objects, I was compelled to draw them, cut them out, and reconstruct their perception for the viewer. In my most recent collage work, I construct dialogues amongst unlikely conversationalists: curios juxtaposed with the intent of creating one seamless visual story. The pairing of braided plaits of hair and balls of twine becomes natural union instead of absurd and maladroit.

These collages center on the concept of re-construction: an image is printed, cut in two, shifts direction, and then takes on a completely figurative shape for the viewer. These new relationships and narratives are not, in actuality, new at all. My collage work seeks to uncover the preexisting relationships between these objects: of similarities in pattern, form, and movement.