Emma Sheehy
Overview
“I am influenced by the folkloric and the humorous: mythologies, manuscripts, and awkward public interactions.” - Emma Sheehy
Emma Sheehy creates imaginative spaces that are escapist, humorous, and folkloric, filled with a somewhat weaponised naiveté. Her work is influenced by pre-modern polytheistic mythologies, mediaeval manuscripts, and awkward public interactions. Often drawing upon mediaeval-inspired imagery, a cast of creatures appear repeatedly in her paintings and sculptures, playfully rendered in both paint and carved wood.
Sheehy uses her research as a means of understanding the present - her impish creatures complicitly smile at our contemporary moment and the repeating patterns of the world. The motif of the worm has become a symbol of queerness and resilience in her work; as creatures that can regrow from cuts, and switch back and forth between femininity and masculinity they represent fluidity and growth, communicating that love is a freedom from pain. Making work that privileges love has influenced Sheehy's commitment to producing sculpture that is sustainably minded, mostly crafted from wood and carefully sourced materials.
Biography
Emma Sheehy lives and works in London. She completed a BA in Fine Art at Leeds University (2015) and an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art (2023). Sheehy was selected for Bloomburg New Contemporaries 2023, and was awarded the Merz Barn Residency (2022) and the Artichoke Printing Prize (2017).
Her work has been included in group exhibitions by galleries and curatorial projects including: Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool (2023); Hangar Space, London (2023), Filet Space, London (2023); Bermondsey Project Space, London (2023); Standpoint Gallery, London (2022) and Camden Arts Centre, London (Upcoming - 2024).
Exhibitions
Works
