EMMA MAGENTA
Emma is an Australian artist, writer and filmmaker and began drawing and writing her observations of the inner and outer worlds down on paper book bags and pinning them to the wall at Berkelouw Books, Paddington where she worked for 10 years. She was offered an international book deal at the front desk and has illustrated, written and published 7 books, and an award winning animation and live action film.
Emma is inherently inspired by nature, mythology and the world view of the child and primarily draws with her opposite hand to bypass the left brain, to achieve a naive style. Moving into painting is a deeper exploration into the power of symbolism, colour and text to evoke simultaneously, the feeling body and the mind of the viewer around matters of consciousness, spirit, nature and memory.
Medlow Map
Fabric
2023
I created The Great Battle Map of Medlow Bath and based it on Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings to convey the tension between generating a harmonious relationship to the land and the quest for dominion over it. We are at the stage when Frodo is catapulted from the Shire onto a journey to Mordor to destroy the one ring of power - to save Middle Earth.
Bunyip Oracle
126 x 73cm
Mixed media
I saw that The Swampland Bunyip could be a symbol for the unconscious forces within humanity around the most overlooked places to protect in nature - the importance of the vitality of our wetlands and peat bogs.