Emma Creasey
Between Painters interview with Emma Creasey (she/her).
A huge thankyou to Emma for sharing about her practice with us, she also has an article released today in the Design Files if you would like to read more about Emma please read here. Emma is paired with Ileigh Hellier for the June 2022 exhibition in Melbourne/Naarm at Backwoods Gallery , ‘Between Painters’.
Image courtesy of Emma Creasey.
About Emma
Emma Creasey creates intimate and curious paintings that imbue the mundane with a sense of opulence. Exploring the possibilities in visual story-telling, much of Emmas work focuses on the intimacy of sharing food. While each painting has a narrative of its own, Emmas works are linked through their tendency to leave the viewer feeling as though they have stumbled upon a private moment.
Emma acknowledges the Wurundjeri people who are the Traditional Custodians of the Land on which she works and lives, and respectfully recognises Elders past, present and future.
Charlotte: How would you describe your current practice?
Emma: I’ve recently transitioned to oil paint and work primarily on stretched linen. It’s really changed my practice; I’m spending so much longer on each painting but I’m having a lot more fun with it and am feeling more connected to each piece. I paint pretty intuitively so I will usually do a rough sketch straight onto the linen, and then the work will evolve and change as I paint. Over the past year my work has been commissioned paintings, or new work to form part of a collection at Sunday Salon, an online platform for emerging artists and collectors. I’m self-taught so this has felt like a really balanced way to develop my practice as an artist, with an equal blend of opportunities to work freely and follow my own ideas, as well as the chance to create in line with specific requests.
Charlotte: Tell us about your subject matter and what intrigues you as an artist
Emma: My subject matter at the moment is the female form, food, interiors and settings in nature. A theme I have been exploring is the potential for multiple realities to exist. I’m interested in creating paintings that seem to exist for aesthetic pleasure, depicting what often appears to be a relaxed moment of escapism in another world.
Through body language of the characters, or the specific placement of certain objects, or the setting itself, I like to explore ways to allude to the idea that the scene may not be what it seems, and that a more ominous experience could be occurring. I’m intrigued by the possibilities in visual storytelling and like to think of the paintings as frozen moments in time, giving attention to what could be happening with the characters or setting if each scene were to play out.
Image courtesy of Emma Creasey.
Charlotte: What are you working on now and working towards?
Emma: I’ve just wrapped up my last few big projects for the year and am finishing up a commission piece before taking a break over Christmas. Aside from the commissioned work I have lined up for the new year I don’t have too much scheduled which is both scary and exciting, depending on my mood, so I’m beginning to focus my attention on exploring next steps.
After spending most of this year working alone and having my paintings experienced primarily online, I’m really wanting to move toward more collaborative projects, more ways to connect with individuals and businesses across various fields, and hopefully the chance to participate in some exhibitions.
Charlotte.: Tell us about your collaboration for Between Painters
Emma: I’m so excited about this collaboration. I’ve been paired up with Ileigh Hellier, an artist based in Newcastle who creates incredible work. When Ileigh and I first got in touch with each other to discuss the project we found that although our styles are quite different we have very similar processes in the way we create, and shared similar ideas on how we might work together. As we live in different states Ileigh and I have decided to create two large paintings for the exhibition. We will each begin one painting, and then courier that over to the other to complete. We have been working together to come up with concepts for the work and it’s been fun to share our messy, stream of consciousness thinking with each other.
Charlotte: What challenges/excites you about this collaborative project?
Emma: The middle stage of my paintings are usually where I experience the most self-doubt, so I think it will be a challenge to send a work off half-complete. It will be a challenge also to receive a half-complete work, more of a challenge maybe, to add to someone’s work and trust that you’re making choices that will do the work justice, and that will bring it to where it needs to be. What challenges me is also what excites me about this project, that it will be a big lesson in trust, and that ultimately all we can do is let go and have fun with it. I’m really looking forward to the moments that Ileigh and I are simultaneously working on our paintings from afar. Something that has already been really rewarding about the project is the channel of communication that has opened up between all of the artists involved. I haven’t had a sense of community in the arts before this, so that has been really special for me so far.
For updates about Emmas practice, please see her instagram and website.
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