Elena Suhren

My personal scrapbook gained attention after I brought it into the studio earlier this year. I received lots of questions about why I wasn’t doing this type of art in Uni as well; why not take everything I love about junk journaling and create that on a larger scale? So I’ve done exactly that, crafting, collating and combining different components to create my expanded nest. I spent hours sifting through my scrapbook, determining different collections I could focus on to then combine together. I created tedious cutouts, pattern making, stickers, character designs, ink prints, drawings, and more. I want the wall to show my process as well as my personality, through individualised pieces created by me or collected from my life. I loved the strong community aspect, with friends and family continuously donating unwanted materials for me to use. I thought this was really special as it ties in with ideas surrounding the importance of art and community in my culture. I love tedious craft making that requires attentive repetitive handwork, and that’s evident in a lot of familiar Samoan art practices as well as in the Crow’s Nest.