In her stunning debut collection, Emma-Leone Palmer invites us to explore a supernatural negative space to navigate the neural pathways of our own minds.
Each of us is formed of tiny sparks of electricity. Illuminating our way in the world through a constellation of unique interactions, these synaptic flares act as beacons, mapping out who we are and how we think in an explosion of light. In her stunning debut collection, Afterglow , Emma-Leone Palmer invites us to explore a supernatural negative space to navigate the neural pathways of our own minds. Spiralling across each of the large-scale original oil paintings is a seemingly chaotic entanglement of neon wires. Allegorising not only the complexity of our thoughts but the digital information we receive and process on a daily basis, these bursts of light illuminate the female subjects whilst deepening the darkness they inhabit. After fighting her own internal battles, the abstract forms are a torch for Emma to illuminate her thoughts. The former Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year contestant explains: “This is where I am most me, where I thrive and where I feel most alive. Everything else feels like white noise. On reflection, I’ve been painting little parts of myself – trying to work it out in a whirlwind that’s been spinning me hard.” To create her hypnotic pieces, Emma fixes pliable lighting strips and neon wires to her subjects. Using colours similar to infrared photography, the Surrey-based artist captures the futuristic otherness of the body by exploring each subject’s intimate connection with energy. She adds: “The way the light play catches the undulations has me mesmerised as a painter. I knew I had to experiment and play in a new way. Be naked, be vulnerable, strip it back, change it up.”
THALASSA Original Oil on Box Canvas | 151x120cm
SINOPE Original Oil on Box Canvas | 170x120cm
DIONE Original Oil on Box Canvas | 171x120cm
IO Original Oil on Box Canvas | 80x80cm
CYLLENE Original Oil on Box Canvas | 170x121cm
UMBRIEL Original Oil on Box Canvas | 171x120cm
“ I paint faces, although I like to say I paint expressions…not just what is on the aesthetic surface, but what is underneath. It ’s the internal dialogue versus the external portrayal . I am not interested in painting bowls of fruit, but living, breathing, expressive human beings.”
– EMMA-LEONE PALMER
DEIMOS Original Oil on Box Canvas | 171x120cm
HELIKE Original Oil on Box Canvas | 171x120cm
HYPERION Original Oil on Box Canvas | 170x120cm
ADRASTEA Original Oil on Box Canvas | 171x121cm
TITAN Original Oil on Box Canvas | 171x120cm
GALATEA Original Oil on Box Canvas | 171x120cm
METHONE Original Oil on Box Canvas | 171x120cm
DYSNOMIA Original Oil on Box Canvas | 171x120cm
AMALTHEA Original Oil on Box Canvas | 171x120cm
THEMISTO Original Oil on Box Canvas | 171x120cm
“Be naked, be vulnerable, strip it back, change it up.”
– EMMA-LEONE PALMER
NAIAD Original Oil on Box Canvas | 171x120cm
CRESSIDA Original Oil on Box Canvas | 120x170cm
BORN: Guildford (1981) LIVES AND WORKS: Surrey EDUCATION: University of the Creative Arts
EXHIBITIONS: ArtGemini Prize (2015), Portrait 16 (2016), Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year (2017), The Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize (2017), The Wallace Collection (2017) AWARDS: London Contemporary Art Prize (2017) Some of Emma’s earliest memories are of her with a paintbrush in her hand or drawing on her bedroom wall. After graduating with a fine art degree in 2005, she moved to Umbria in Italy with a rucksack of art supplies. It was here, at a studio once used by the High Renaissance painter Raphael, that her love of figurative painting blossomed. Upon her return, Emma held a solo exhibition of 38 portraits at the Watts Gallery in Surrey. She went on to appear as a contestant on Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, painting the film star Richard E. Grant. Her work is also owned by the British Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies. She is moved by a compulsive urge to create and the challenge of capturing an emotion. For her, painting is as innate as breathing. She loves the feeling of oil paint between her fingers and the way the colours move and blend. Through her artworks, she captures the juxtaposition of internal dialogue and outward portrayal. Emma says: “It’s finding a peace floating in the middle…this is where the beauty is. I love the Francis Bacon quote, ‘In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present’. I have embraced this fully, dancing with my demons the only way I know how – with my paintbrush in hand.”
The images contained within this literature are an artistic representation of the collection. To best experience our art, we recommend you contact your local gallery to arrange a viewing. © Washington Green 2019. The content of this brochure is subject to copyright and no part can be reproduced without prior permission.
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