My work uses collage as a way to confront the images and narratives that surround us every day. I draw from magazines—sources full of stereotypes, idealized bodies, and cultural expectations—and reassemble them to expose the tensions hidden beneath their surfaces. By cutting, layering, and disrupting these familiar visuals, I challenge the viewer to question what is considered “normal,” “desirable,” or “acceptable.”

Alongside this critique of representation, my collages explore deeper human experiences: isolation, aging, death, and the uncertainty of what comes after. These themes emerge through fragmented bodies, unexpected juxtapositions, and the surreal spaces where nature and the human form overlap. Inspiration from surrealism guides my approach, allowing intuitive connections, dreamlike transitions, and symbolic elements to shape each piece.

I see collage as both destruction and reconstruction—a process that mirrors the emotional and existential shifts we encounter throughout life. Through this work, I invite viewers to look closely, to question the images that shape us, and to consider the fragile, complex realities behind them.

Justyna Dunal is a Toronto-based visual artist whose collage practice explores identity, memory, transformation, and the complexities of feminine experience. Working with found imagery, she deconstructs and reconstructs fragments into surreal narratives where beauty and unease coexist. Her layered compositions blur the boundaries between the human body, nature, and imagination, inviting viewers to question ideas of perfection, aging, resilience, and selfhood.

Through an intuitive process of cutting, assembling, and juxtaposing disparate elements, she creates symbolic worlds that examine how identity is shaped, dismantled, and continuously rebuilt. Her collages embrace contradiction—fragility alongside strength, vulnerability alongside defiance—revealing transformation as an ongoing state of becoming.
Justyna holds BFA from University of Toronto, and has lately exhibited in Propeller Gallery in Toronto and Limner Gallery in USA. Justyna has received the Award of Excellence at the Visual Art Centre of Clarington, as well as Special Recognition Award in USA.