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Salena & Her Sneakers! Interview by Janine Simon It is a new day for this generation of Female Sneaker Fiends. With a new President to be inaugurated soon, there is a sense of change sweeping the globe. Hopefully, in the near future female sneaker fiends will be judged not by the color of their kicks, but by the copious content of their sneaker collections. Berlin, Germany based sneaker fiendish artist Salena Barnes is a representation of the change in this FSF generation. She does virtual drawings while rocking fly kicks, a new aged fiend in every sense of the word. Salena is very much like her sneaker collection: creative, eclectic and down to earth.
When did you fall in love with art? That I can say happened before I was able to speak. My mother and I drew and listened to music everyday. I used to keep all paper boxes from anything to paint on them, climb into them with a little radio. Then they were cartoons. Of course I didn’t know what art was back then. By learning more about the theory and history of visual art as a teenager in school I fell in love. My grandfather used to work as a security guard in the famous National Gallery here in Berlin. So I somehow got in touch with art very early. I was just so captured by what was shown and explained to me about it.
How do you go about inspiring people with your sneaker/ art styles? If my work or style inspires people to do positive, fun, beautiful or constructive things it’s great. I enjoy making those drawing videos though, because I got a lot of response from people who are interested in learning more about drawing. I also like to work with kids, its fun to see how they enjoy experimenting with colors and put their ideas on paper. My little brother used to hate drawing, now he thinks it’s okay.
Who are your favorite visual and musical artists? When it comes to visual artists I will always be fascinated by those old DaVinci sketches, by Rothko´s colors, Andy Warhol’s intelligence and humor. But in between there are many artists I like. Right now I’m dealing with understanding more modern, abstract things. Music plays a major role in my work process and I can find a favorite part in almost every song of musicians that I like. Sometimes it can be just a few sounds or words in a song that inspire me. Right now I listen to a lot of Instrumentals.
It must have been when I was a teenager. It was when I was tired of adidas, and L.A. Gear was very “hip” in Germany ages ago.
What is the importance of style (sneaker/clothing)? Style can tell a story. Style can be used as a form of expression. The only funny thing about it is that people tend to confuse the clothing style with the person and judge you subconsciously at times.
The art of sneaker style is an inspiration to fiends worldwide. Let such inspiration provoke action that creates change. Changes in politics, art and of course the global sneaker culture. And it looks like we got Salena to document it for us!
Editor's Note: Find more Salena artwork online: |
