SONYA CERNY
ABOUT
Creating collages is the way I have always represented my inspirations, loves and passions. From the pin-up boards in my bedroom to the walls of the classrooms I teach in.
I enjoy working with found imagery found from a physical source, rather than images sourced online, giving them a new purpose and meaning. The images I use in my collages are cut out of back issues of National Geographic magazine, outdated science textbooks, maps, medical journals and old encyclopedias.
Rather than digital collage, hand cut and pasted collage is my practiced method as cutting pasting by hand is a more personal approach that allows me to embrace the mistakes and special marks that come naturally with hand made collage. It also enables me to physically experience the tactile quality and texture of real paper as well as being able to manually layer materials.
Inspirations - artists
- Beth Hoeckel
- Dan Hillier
- Jessica Joslin
- Elizabeth McGrath
- Nicole Natri
- Richard Russell
- Eva Eun-Sil Han
- Alexis Anne Mackenzie
- Kelly Allen
- Mark Ryden
- Gregory Euclide
- Hugo Barros
- Julian Pacaud
- Mira Ruido
- Javier Pinon
- Joseph Cornell
- Max Ernst
- Steiner & Lenzlingler
Inspirations - science and education
- Norman Doidge, M.D. (author of The Brain That Changed Itself)
- Barbara Arrowsmith Young (author of The Woman Who Changed Her Brain)
- Michael Mosley
- Louis Theroux
I completed a Masters of Applied Design and Art at Curtin University in Western Australia in 2014.
My research project explored whether analysis of visual art and making collaged artworks could help science students better understand and retain science concepts. A series of collages were produced based on science concepts covered in the Australian national curriculum. These collages acted as exemplars to what secondary students in the science could could potentially create based on personal understandings and interpretations.