Profile image : Colin Gaudet
Artist Samantha Louise Emery creates large scale multimedia portraits of influential female trailblazers, the modern female icons of our generation inspiring others through their actions. In celebration of International Women’s Day 2020, an exhibition of Emery’s ten contemporary muses from her IKONA | Mirrored Interior series including Jane Goodall, Malala Yousafzai and Caitlin Moran, will be displayed at Carousel in Seven Dials from Monday 2 March to Thursday 19 March.
You are a former model who has worked with renowned photographers including Annie Leibovitz and Patrick Lichfield, tell us about your journey from model to artist?
My modelling experience positively influenced my creative journey. Perceiving my body as a form of inspiration came early in my ceramic sculpture and in many of my abstract paintings. In my current IKONA portrait project, I use photographic layers of myself as a visual narrative art form.
Why have you decided to put women at the forefront of your work?
I believe women thrive in supportive environments. I choose to creatively participate in this feminine support and ultimately in my own self growth by drawing attention to women who have risen above the challenges of being female in their chosen fields. With my multimedia IKONA project, I aim to inspire women to rise to their highest potential by embracing their feminine spirit and sharing their unique wisdom.
Your work is almost dreamlike, how would you describe your art?
Thank you, dreamlike describes my art well. I aim to capture more than just the physical form by translating my subject’s unique energy onto canvas, portraying the seen and unseen dimensions that I believe exist. The interconnectedness we experience in life captivates my imagination and in exploring these realms, I continue to develop my understanding of our relationship to one another.
Talk us through your artistic process? What materials do you use to create your portraits?
My IKONA | Mirrored Interior portraits are an amalgam of photography, digital drawing, photo compositing, painting and embroidery. I began the creative process using a photo of my subject in Adobe Sketch, drawing into their photo and deleting the original prior to photo compositing parts of my body into each portrait. The digital artworks were then UV printed onto canvas before I added pigment and texture through acrylic painting and hand embroidery. The artworks hang inside custom made sapele wood frames using eyelets and stainless steel cable wire attached to grommets.
You will be exhibiting your series IKONA | Mirrored Interior in March, could you tell us more about this series? Who are your ten subjects and why did you choose them?
The series was inspired by ten significant women alive today who have influenced me throughout my life both creatively and spiritually. The inspirational women include:
- Laurie Anderson, creative polymath
- Angelique Kidjo, activist and singer
- Sadiye, Anatolian vegetable seller
- Germaine Greer, author and feminist
- Alanis Obomsawin, spokeswoman for Native American and women’s rights
- Krystyne Griffin, jewellery designer and godmother
- Caitlin Moran, columnist and comedian
- Jane Goodall, conservationist and animal rights activist
- Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize winner and activist for women’s rights
- Lucy, a self portrait
Do you have any other projects in the pipeline?
I am currently working on my next portrait project IKONA \ Wise Women which will shine a fresh light on the fluidity of female solidarity and divine interconnectedness. The new series will include international best-selling author Tara Westover, presenter Andrea McLean and the former Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson amongst others and will be showcased in London during October 2020.