Elysha Rei

This week we’re celebrating Brisbane-based artist @elysharei as our #CreativeOfTheWeek ❤ Elysha uses paper to create detailed and layered artwork installations that convey the powerful yet delicate threads that connect us all. Each piece’s intricate patterns are lovingly and patiently created by hand. Her work has been recognised through multiple artist residencies and fellowships including with Museum of Brisbane (2017), Asialink in Japan (2018), Tiffany & Co. (2022) and Past Wrongs Future Choices in Canada (2023). Elysha was also commissioned for @brisbanequarter earlier this year in partnership with @qagoma ’s Asia Pacific Triennial for her largest hand-cut work to date – a 25m long snake to celebrate Lunar New Year. Elysha was also a 2023 @naagovau and Australian Historical Association Postgraduate Fellow, where she drew on records about Japanese history in Queensland from the national archival collection as inspiration for her exhibition ‘Shirozato to Shinju (White Sugar and Pearls)’, which showed at @umbrellastudiotsv in Townsville earlier this year. #AustralianArtist #AustralianArt 📷 PixelPunk 2025, supplied by the artist.

Artist Profile: @elysharei 🎏 📃 "What do you bring to the art scene in Queensland?..." Elysha Rei is a Japanese-Australian artist based in Brisbane who creates artworks from intricate paper-cutting techniques. Through her series she explores themes of memory, identity, and belonging to investigate her archival relationship towards her heritage. When we asked her what advice, she would give herself, when she was younger or just started making art, this is what she had to say: "1. Trust your process. Even in quiet periods, your mind is working — reflection is as important as action. 2. If you can’t find opportunities, make them. Enter a prize, run an exhibition, pitch an idea — carve your own path. 3. Compare only with your last work. Growth through reflection and persistence is the only race worth running. 4. Find your voice. Know your ‘why’, your story, and your unique contribution to knowledge. When you create with conviction, your work will resonate. 5. Nurture your relationships. The arts is a long game, and the people you meet along the way — peers, mentors, collaborators — will be part of your journey in ways you can’t yet imagine. This sector is deeply interconnected, and we’re all stronger when we support each other. Show up for others, share knowledge, and invest in the community around you. When you lift others, you lift yourself too." Currently, Elysha was commissioned to install her biggest work yet at @brisbanequarter "静寂 (Seijaku): Serenity" at @brisbanequarter - which was in partnership with Asia Pacific Triennial at QAGOMA (2025). Don't forget to keep up with Elysha's latest projects, and thank you to our artist for taking the time to answer our questions 👏 💗 Photography Credit: @pixel_punk_pictures #FlyingArtsAlliance #FlyingArts #FlyingArtsProgram #regionalqueensland #queenslandartist #emergingartistaustralia #australianartist #supportingregionalarts #connecttheartstoregionalqueensland #womeninart #elysharei #QAGOMA #brisbaneart #brisbaneartist #artistfeature #brisbanequarter

‘Don’t lose yourself under the weight of another’s emotional unavailability’, 2026 Hand cut taizan washi paper from @awagami_factory @awagamifactory_jp and watercolour paint 29 x 39cm I knew the title of this work first. It arrived as both a thought and a mantra, then compelled itself into form through hours of cutting, labour, and contemplation. The process became a way of sitting with the question of why I felt driven to make this work now. It is part nervous system, part emotion, part root system searching for ground through a web of connections that forced me to reflect on the patterns I kept attracting, and what it means to finally break them. It speaks to seeking connection in an online world, dating as a parent, craving companionship and romance while also wanting to protect my own peace and self-respect. These truths sit beside one another, now held together in paper cut into tiny fragments and painted red because that was the colour that called to me too.

Sneak peek of a new body of work to be fully revealed later this year This piece is hand-cut washi paper with enamel gold paint, depicting my mother’s charm bracelet adorned with memories from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦✨

‘Year of the (unbridled) fire horse’, 2026 Hand cut @awagamifactory_jp paper and sumi ink 29.7 x 42cm Fire appears in this work not only as destruction, but as ignition and activation. The smoke cloud drifts away, taking with it the residue of what lingered and was let go. Poised, the fire horse (unbridled), now advances, propelled by energy that cleanses and clarifies. Holding tension between consequence and propulsion, we are invited into a phase of forward motion that is shaped with care and intention. Original artwork and Edition of 26 prints available through @onespace_au

Jumping on the #2016 trend to look back at a decade ago when I first started on @instagram Highlights include my first @brisbanecitycouncil BrisAsia Festival installation with @vanghoua_anthonyvue in Eagle Lane curated by @engagearts , first exhibition with @artisanqld at the old Ivory Street gallery, delivering Artiz at @unisqaus with @flyingartsalliance and memories of おばあちゃん and the cutest 7 year old boy ❤️

Can’t believe it’s been nearly a week since I returned from an incredible trip to Japan as part of the @artisanqld Cultural Delegation to World Expo Osaka 2025. Thanks to @tiffany_l_johnson and @miha_pat for organising such a rich itinerary including: Image 1: Shodo (calligraphy) workshop with @ryusho_tanabe Image 2: visit to the incredible centre for creativity and culture at @kiito2017 in Kobe Image 3: connect with Kobe City Council - Brisbane’s Sister City Image 4: Being inspired by pieces like this at a visit to the @takenakacarpentrytoolsmuseum in Kobe Image 5: taste the excitement of World Expo Osaka (another separate post on this to come!) Image 5 and 6: a visit to Seikado in Kyoto - the oldest existing pewter (tin) workshop in Japan Image 7 and 8: a joy to connect with @bluecheak and check out his amazing studio in Kyoto Image 9 and 10: an unforgettable visit to @awagami_factory @awagamifactory_jp to learn how to make kozo washi paper ✨ Image 11: a chance to connect with my roots and revisit my ancestor’s tea temple at @nara_jikoin in Nara Prefecture Image 12 and 13: a wonderful trip to Shigaraki in Shiga Prefecture to visit the @shigaraki.share.studio and connect with amazing ceramicist @arttomoko Image 14: posing with Shodo teacher @ryusho_tanabe whom I will continue lessons with over Zoom starting in November ✨ And last but not least was the chance to connect with inspiring fellow creatives on the delegation including @mscarmelh @angspillane @varendorff @tomsummers.co @catherinelarge_jeweller @girringunart @hopevaleartsandculture The Artisan Osaka Expo Cultural Delegation is supported by the Queensland Government through @artsqueensland and @tradeinvestqld

Nuclear Power Plants, 2011 Hand-cut paper In the collection of @trartgalleries Looking forward to seeing this work again for the first time in 14 years since it was acquired. It is part of the curated collection exhibition Ornamentalism, opening Friday 29 August. Before digital tablets existed, I remember making this work by designing the pattern by hand drawing it first onto kitchen baking paper with a sharpie, then overlaying it as a template. It was also created when the only documentation I had access to was a handheld camera with little regard for proper image sizing. It’s these reflections that make me realise how much I’ve progressed not just in creative themes but also creative process.

‘114’, 2025 Hand cut and punched taizan washi paper 10 x 7.5cm This work acknowledges the 114 individuals of Japanese descent who were permitted to remain in Australia following World War II. Between 1941 and 1946, thousands of Japanese civilians – including second- and third-generation Australians and those living across the islands in the Pacific – were interned in camps across New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. After the war, almost all were forcibly deported to Japan, even if they were born in Australia. Those who were permitted to stay had either an Australian or British spouse or parent. The circular formation of punctures in the washi paper subtly echoes the post-war Japanese flag – a quiet but potent symbol of identity and belonging, suspended within the boundaries of a rectangular field. Each of the 114 holes represents a life that endured: luminous, precarious, and embedded within a broader history of erasure. Through the use of translucent washi and restrained geometry, the piece honours the quiet persistence of those who remained – individuals who held on to family, language, and identity amidst institutional displacement and national forgetting. Hovering slightly off the wall, the paper casts a soft shadow, evoking the ghosted presence of a nearly-lost community. Of the 114 who stayed, many concealed their Japanese identity in order to survive in post-war Australia – anglicising their names, claiming alternate heritage, or passing as Chinese to avoid racial persecution. 114 bears witness to these silences – both chosen and imposed – and invites viewers to reflect not only on what is visible, but on what was nearly lost. This work is part of the series ‘Shirozato to Shinju: White sugar and pearls’, known as display until 27 July at @umbrellastudiotsv

‘Caged Chrysanthemum’, 2025 Hand-cut taizan washi paper and red lipstick 42 x 38 x 2.5cm **Trigger warning: this work references sex trafficking and underage exploitation** Caged Chrysanthemum honours the lives of the Karayuki-san – Japanese women and girls who were coerced into prostitution across the Pacific, including in Australia. Many were under the age of 18, targeted in impoverished rural villages where low literacy and limited opportunity made them especially vulnerable. Lured by false promises, they were smuggled out of Japan via Hong Kong or Singapore, enduring months below deck in harsh, airless conditions. Some did not survive the journey. Those who arrived were forced to repay their passage before their passports were returned. Records suggest the Australian government tolerated the practice, viewing Japanese women as a preferable alternative to white prostitutes servicing labourers in remote outposts. The work features a chrysanthemum, hand-cut from washi paper and tinted with red lipstick, reframed here with dignity and care. The flower is caged within a delicate nightingale enclosure, adorned with frangipani, evoking the tropical landscapes where many of these women were stationed. This piece speaks to both the beauty and the brutal constraints of their lives. It acknowledges the exploitation and resilience of those whose presence contributed to the success of male-dominated industries across northern Australia, yet whose stories remain largely obscured by shame and silence. Caged Chrysanthemum is a tribute – not just to their suffering, but to their endurance, and the complex legacy they left behind in the Japanese-Australian narrative. This work is part of the series ‘Shirozato to Shinju: White sugar and pearls’, on display until 27 July at @umbrellastudiotsv

‘Kardinia’, 2025 Hand cut masa washi paper 116 x 54.5cm Kardinia draws inspiration from the first Japanese consulate in Australia, established in Townsville in 1896. Housed in a Queenslander-style residence and led by the first Consul-General Mr Tsunejiro Nakagawa, the consulate marked the beginning of formal diplomatic relations between Japan and Australia - anchored in trade, migration, and cultural ties throughout North Queensland. Hand-cut in delicate washi with architectural references to the building that still stands, Kardinia becomes an ephemeral monument to a moment of quiet diplomacy and presence. It speaks to the early contributions of Japanese communities in Australia and invites viewers to reflect on the fragility of memory, heritage, and cultural recognition. This work is part of the series ‘Shirozato to Shinju: White sugar and pearls’ - on display until 27 July at @umbrellastudiotsv

‘Caught’, 2025 Hand-cut masa washi paper 53.5 x 230cm This work explores the dual meaning of being “caught” – both the literal act of Japanese pearl divers retrieving shell with nets, and the metaphorical entrapment of Japanese Australians during World War II. A delicate hand-cut net symbolises the tools and livelihoods of the divers, while a descending strand of barbed wire anchor the form to the ground, referencing the internment of civilians with Japanese ancestry in Australia. Within 24 hours of the bombing of Pearl Harbour in December 1941, people of Japanese descent were declared “enemy aliens” under the National Security Act 1939 and were swiftly detained. Although Japanese divers were favoured in the pearling industry for their exceptional skill and endurance, records from the National Archives of Australia also acknowledge the deadly nature of the work – and a disturbing preference for risking the lives of Japanese labourers over those considered non-Asiatic. The barbed wire motif, which slowly unravels into thread, charts a shift in symbolic power – from the diver’s wire net used to capture pearls, to wire as an instrument of confinement in internment camps. Through this transformation, Caught speaks to the fragility of freedom and the layered history of exploitation, endurance, and erasure experienced by Japanese Australians. This work is part of the series ‘Shirozato to Shinju: White sugar and pearls’, on display until 27 July at @umbrellastudiotsv