Instagram story viewer> @esna_su> Posts

The Art of Knitting & Weaving

@esna_su

40.5K

followers

1670

following

In the morning I design, at lunchtime I experiment, and in the evening I make. Visiting lecturer #CSM LONDON 🔁 HATAY
© EsnaSu

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

A long journey of making, unmaking and making again…

The 6th edition of The Burden has taken me through many layers of time, thought and material.

Soon, I’ll be sharing the quiet stages behind its making — one layer at a time.
.
.
.
#TheBurden #refugees #craft #chooselove #esnasu taken in Cockpit Bloomsbury by @esna_su

167

17

a month ago

The Cockpit A to Z of Craft: L is for Leather Working 👜⁠
⁠
Welcome to our 40th Anniversary content series, where every week for 40 weeks we showcase a different craft discipline found at Cockpit Studios. This week the spotlight is on @esna_su, who creates her unique sculptural works using leather.⁠
⁠
Leather working is one of the oldest crafts ever recorded, with evidence of leather tanning dating back to before 400,000 BC. It involves the making of leather items, often using techniques such as moulding or shaping, stamping and embossing⁠, and perforation.⁠
⁠
Esna creates handcrafted sculptural pieces that exist both on and beyond the body. Her work breathes stories into material, forming strips of vegetable tanned leather into wearable sculptures that navigate the space between adornment and autonomous object.⁠
⁠
Rooted in traditional Turkish techniques such as weaving, twining, and crochet, her practice carries traces of heritage while transforming them into a personal visual language. These forms become vessels through which she explores identity and memory, particularly as they are unsettled by political instability.⁠
⁠
Influenced by her observations in Antioch, in the south of Turkey, Esna's work reflects on displacement and loss — on lives interrupted, homes left behind, and the fragile hope of return. Rather than narrating directly, she seeks to evoke a sensory and emotional response, inviting the viewer into a space of reflection and transformation.⁠
⁠
Learn more about Esna's practice in our Maker Directory ➡️ link in bio.⁠
⁠
📸: ⁠Photos by Yeshen Venema⁠
⁠
#AtoZofCraft #Cockpit40 #MadeatCockpit by @esna_su

212

8

a month ago

It’s time to remould these pieces again.

I simply put them in water, one at a time, and follow the same instructions as The Burden pieces.
.
.
Made in my studio @cockpitstudios 🧿
.
.
#craft #leather #knitting #moulding #sculpture taken in Cockpit Bloomsbury by @esna_su

261

14

a month ago

From Antakya to London, I carry craft as a way of remembering.

Shaped by tradition, place, and movement, my work brings together different cultures, identities, and stories. Like water finding its path, it continues to flow between past and present, home and elsewhere.
.
.
#Antakya #memleket #London #craft #sanat by @esna_su

144

4

4 months ago

That’s a wrap! Another Open Studios is over.

This year, my work found its way into many hands through the Open Studios brochure. Seeing so many of you holding it felt like a quiet extension of the conversations we shared around the work itself.

Thank you to everyone who came to visit, took the time to engage with my work, and shared such thoughtful conversations. Seeing familiar faces and meeting new people is always one of the most rewarding parts of these events.

A big thank you also to the Cockpit Studios team @cockpitstudios and all the volunteers who looked after us and welcomed visitors so warmly throughout the event.
.
.
.
Cockpit Studios will continue Deptford brunch…

Cockpit Arts – Deptford, SE8 3DZ 12–14 June Friday: 2–9pm Saturday: 12–6pm Sunday: 12–6pm
.
.
#londonstudios #monday #craft #artist #maker taken in Cockpit Bloomsbury by @esna_su

88

3

4 months ago

We’re open till 6pm today!
@almasophiadesign @archanapathakartist @jackyolivermetalwork
.
.
.
For tickets and details, please click the link in my bio. @cockpitstudios 💙
📍
Cockpit Arts – Bloomsbury, WC1N 2NP 4–7 June Late Opening Thursday 4 June: 2–9pm Friday: 12–7pm Saturday–Sunday: 12–6pm
📍
Cockpit Arts – Deptford, SE8 3DZ 12–14 June Friday: 2–9pm Saturday: 12–6pm Sunday: 12–6pm
.
.
.
#knitting #craft #leather #sculpture #art taken in Cockpit Bloomsbury by @esna_su

150

9

4 months ago

Women in my hometown traditionally used this technique to make Middle Eastern mats, known as hasır. It is a process deeply rooted in everyday life, community, and making by hand.
In my own practice, weaving gives form to the roughness and complexity of the stories I tell. Its tactile presence invites interaction, raises questions, and encourages a closer engagement with the themes embedded within each piece.

For tickets and details, please click the link in my bio. @cockpitstudios 💙
📍
Cockpit Arts – Bloomsbury, WC1N 2NP 4–7 June Late Opening Thursday 4 June: 2–9pm Friday: 12–7pm Saturday–Sunday: 12–6pm
📍
Cockpit Arts – Deptford, SE8 3DZ 12–14 June Friday: 2–9pm Saturday: 12–6pm Sunday: 12–6pm
.
.
.
#knitting #craft #leather #sculpture #art taken in Cockpit Bloomsbury by @esna_su

227

9

4 months ago

The Refugee I responds to the displacement of Syrian refugees forced to abandon their homes and seek safety in sprawling refugee camps. Woven from paper rush, the work speaks to the fragility of shelter and the human need for protection, while reflecting the isolation, resilience, and sense of impermanence that can accompany life in exile.
.
.
.
.

For tickets and details, please click the link in my bio. @cockpitstudios 💙
📍
Cockpit Arts – Bloomsbury, WC1N 2NP 4–7 June Late Opening Thursday 4 June: 2–9pm Friday: 12–7pm Saturday–Sunday: 12–6pm
📍
Cockpit Arts – Deptford, SE8 3DZ 12–14 June Friday: 2–9pm Saturday: 12–6pm Sunday: 12–6pm
.
.
.
#syria #home #hasir #weaving #textile taken in Cockpit Bloomsbury by @esna_su

258

7

4 months ago

One of the most rewarding parts of Open Studios is sharing the process behind my craft.

This week I’ll be presenting my collections and offering visitors a closer look at the materials, techniques, and stories behind the work.

If you’d like to see the work up close and learn more about how it is made, why not visit me at Cockpit Bloomsbury between 4–7 June?
.
.
.
For tickets and details, please click the link in my bio. @cockpitstudios 💙
📍
Cockpit Arts – Bloomsbury, WC1N 2NP 4–7 June Late Opening Thursday 4 June: 2–9pm Friday: 12–7pm Saturday–Sunday: 12–6pm
📍
Cockpit Arts – Deptford, SE8 3DZ 12–14 June Friday: 2–9pm Saturday: 12–6pm Sunday: 12–6pm
.
.
.
#knitting #craft #leather #sculpture #art taken in Cockpit Bloomsbury by @esna_su

138

1

4 months ago

Alongside my woven works, you’ll also be able to see a selection of knitted pieces from The Burden I, The Burden II, and The Memory Shell during Cockpit Open Studios.

I only have a few Memory Shell pieces left, and they will be available at special Open Studios prices.

If you’re interested in owning one, do come by my studio—I would love to show you the work and share the stories behind it.
.
.
.
For tickets and details, please click the link in my bio. @cockpitstudios 💙
📍
Cockpit Arts – Bloomsbury, WC1N 2NP 4–7 June Late Opening Thursday 4 June: 2–9pm Friday: 12–7pm Saturday–Sunday: 12–6pm
📍
Cockpit Arts – Deptford, SE8 3DZ 12–14 June Friday: 2–9pm Saturday: 12–6pm Sunday: 12–6pm
.
.
.
#knitting #craft #leather #sculpture #art taken in Cockpit Bloomsbury by @esna_su

102

5

4 months ago

‘Pieces of The PEACE’ was created using the traditional Middle Eastern carpet technique Hasir, which is based on continuous hand-weaving. I invited 65 women, representing cities across Syria, to gather over time in my workshop and take part in a collaborative process of making, mending, and reflection.

Together, we embroidered 3,700 Swarovski crystals — referencing the 3,700 km distance from London to Aleppo — forming one of the six Arabic letters of السلام (Al-Salam, “peace”). Like shrapnel or seeds of hope, the crystals sit within the carpet: sharp yet luminous, inhabiting a surface that appears wounded.

The tones of the work are drawn from henna, symbolising the bridal home. Wavy blue Swarovski crystals evoke the sea, referencing the Mediterranean and the lives lost there by refugees seeking safety. Paper rush is woven together with muslin and gauze, forming bandage-like bridges across gaps and abrasions in the surface.
.
.
For tickets and details, please click the link in my bio. @cockpitstudios 💙
📍
Cockpit Arts – Bloomsbury, WC1N 2NP 4–7 June Late Opening Thursday 4 June: 2–9pm Friday: 12–7pm Saturday–Sunday: 12–6pm
📍
Cockpit Arts – Deptford, SE8 3DZ 12–14 June Friday: 2–9pm Saturday: 12–6pm Sunday: 12–6pm
.
.

#peace #craft #community #community #textile taken in Cockpit Bloomsbury by @esna_su

236

11

4 months ago

Did I ever tell you that my collections follow the seasons of Cockpit Open Studios?

Summer Open Studios are always for weaving, while winter naturally becomes knitting season.

So yes — it’s officially Summer at Cockpit, and time to bring my “The Refugee” collection back to the front.

What makes this Open Studios even more special for me is that I’ll also be showing my carpet piece, “Pieces of The PEACE”. As we celebrate 40 years of the Cockpit community, it feels like the perfect time to share a work that speaks of togetherness, support, and belonging.
.
.
.
For tickets and details, please click the link in my bio. @cockpitstudios 💙
📍
Cockpit Arts – Bloomsbury, WC1N 2NP 4–7 June Late Opening Thursday 4 June: 2–9pm Friday: 12–7pm Saturday–Sunday: 12–6pm
📍
Cockpit Arts – Deptford, SE8 3DZ 12–14 June Friday: 2–9pm Saturday: 12–6pm Sunday: 12–6pm
.
.
#community #textile #jewellery #woodwork #metalwork taken in Cockpit Bloomsbury by @esna_su

235

15

4 months ago