Wardell Milan has had his own studio since the age of four. Recognized for his artistic gifts from an early age, his parents made sure he had space to explore creativity within the walls of their home. Pivotal moments with advisers in high school and college turned Milan’s singular attention toward art at age fifteen and photography at age nineteen. During his graduate studies at Yale University (MFA, 2004), Milan began to reconsider his relationship to the medium of photography. His parallel development in drawing, carried over from childhood, was joined with his interest in creating collages and three-dimensional dioramas to become the boundary blurring agents of Milan’s particular interpretation of photography.

Wardell Milan’s collage and mixed media works have won him critical acclaim. In this interview, Milan provides further insight into the processes and inspiration behind his series on boxing, Battle Royale and his series of photographed dioramas.