Emily Hana

Born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1990, London-based multimedia artist Emily Hana explores the concept of light as a three-dimensional material. Her practice observes how light can change our perception and interaction with a space. The artist is concerned with angular tessellations, geometric shapes, shadows and exposure - visually explored in many of her works - and how these elements integrate to alter our reception of space and time.

Emily Hana’s Early Career and Art Series

Emily graduated from Cofa, Sydney, Australia, with a BA in Art Education in 2013, majoring in Drawing and Painting and minoring in Printmaking, Sculpture, Ceramics, and Photography. In her most recent series, her paintings focus on the gentrification of warehouses and creative districts in London. The artist documents how we transform things we see as dirty or dilapidated into objects of desire, renewed and refined, barely recognisable from the original. To advance this concept, Emily takes discarded materials from gentrified areas and breathes new life into them. She turns trash left out to rot into something of beauty and value. Their original form is not lost, however. Upon deeper inspection, the imperfect and flawed nature of the original articles emerge. Her works act as a palimpsest of the past. Although gifted a new facade or fresh sheen, memories of the underground and urban spirit still shine through.

Exhibitions and Residencies

Emily works in printmaking, drawing, sculpture, and installation, promising a multifaceted and unpredictable oeuvre. Emily is currently a resident at Hackney Wick Underground, London. She has had previous residencies in Amsterdam and exhibited widely across London and the Netherlands.