An 8 Question Interview With Rosie Emerson

Rosie Emerson is a woman with a love for the beautiful. Through the use of photography, screen printing, hand-painting, and gold-leafing she delivers the different facades of women. Whether they be femme fatales or celestial beings what she primarily focuses on is bringing out that alluring innate nature of a woman. Here we get a rare close encounter on what goes on in the mind and process behind her limited edition "Shrine" print series.

Q1. How did you get into Art? I always new I wanted to do something creative. I am lucky in that I come from a creative family; my grandmother is a painter, my father a cabinetmaker. At school I loved all the arts, creative writing, drama, textiles and I still love costume and set design, but I am very happy with the creative freedom that comes with being an artist.  

Rosie Emerson in the Studio

  Q2. What is it about the female subject that's appealing to you? What similarities does the modern day supermodel have in comparison with Artemis? I have always been interested in how women project themselves and how society projects women on an aesthetic level. From mythology, art history through to today’s beauty and fashion editorials the female figure has been elevated, beyond the everyday. I am conscious that I do not make portraits, but create facades of women; sometimes the women look strong, goddess-like, and sometimes vulnerable. I sit in unhappy paradox with the work I make, I am always lured by the beautiful, and beautiful is a word as controversial in today’s art word as it is in feminist debate.   Q3. What's the weirdest response you've ever had to a piece? That one of my models looks like she was in a washing machine!? You can’t win them all!   Q4. How long does it take to complete a piece? Very difficult to say, I work on several pieces at once, and it's made in stages, it's very broken up, There is the initial photo shoot, then post production, then making the actual work, preparing screens or papers, printing the work, then hand painting, or gold leafing. From initial research to inspiration to completion, it can be months or even years.  

Lena
Rosie Emerson

  Q5. 3 main influences? Nature, Silhouettes, Everything in the V&A (is that cheating?)   Q6. What kind of world are you trying to depict through your art? My Imagined one.  

Shrine #1 and Shrine #2
Rosie Emerson

  Q7. What advice would you give to someone just coming out of Art school? Go for it! Do your own thing, and don’t compromise your work. Don’t expect opportunities to come to you, but if they do, seize them with both hands.    Q8. How has the internet affected you in terms of gaining visibility for your work? It has been a fantastic tool, it has given me much greater exposure through press and blogs, social media, people who perhaps wouldn’t normally go into an art gallery can also see and buy my work through it.  

Sola
Rosie Emerson

 

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