MESH - the fabric of friends

April 03, 2022 - April 24, 2022

RK Gallery, Riebeek Kasteel

MESH - the fabric of friends

RK Contemporary, Riebeek Kasteel

Group exhibition with Gwenneth Miller, Colleen Alborough and Mandy Conidaris

Read the article in the Art Times here

Emma Willemse

Artist Statement 

"Art is a way of survival"

Yoko Ono

Moving on from my interest in the concept of displacement, I embarked on a salvaging expedition. The works for the MESH exhibition deal with collected remnants of urban decay, such as shards of paint collected from a peeling wall or old filing cabinets found in thrift stores. The expedition is further extended into the retrieval of my own previous creations, such as fragments of drawings, snippets of found images and linocut prints. These materials are altered and converted into a series of playful three-dimensional suspended installations, monotype prints and digital collages.  

I am of the opinion that the reclaiming of the remains of a traumatic experience and its transformation into an artwork can cause a parallel alchemy in the psyche. It is a kind of self-rescue that materializes with intense focus and submersion in the task at hand. In this constant, never-ending pursuit the support of a network of trusted, like-minded allies is a safety-net for enabling creative freedom.