Jenna Strouth with Plastic.jpg

I celebrate the beauty within the rejected.

I’m as fascinated by uncovering treasures in trash piles as I am by stumbling upon a beetle in situ, dead of natural causes. I’m inspired by found materials and what they could become; with few exceptions, I rely on materials found on streets and shorelines and in second-hand shops.

My work often deals with the tension of both/and, considering a subject’s value and beauty along with its nugatory or disturbing traits. With my MA in Cultural Anthropology & Social Transformation, I can turn anything into a cultural study.

While I live in San Francisco, I’m deeply influenced by my time in North Carolina and Hawaii. I spent much of my childhood outdoors exploring riverbanks, beaches, and forests; I spent just as much time indoors rummaging through the cultural history depositories that are antique stores, flea markets, junk yards, and thrift stores.

Publications

Group Exhibitions