Emily Joy

Emily Joy (UK, 1982) is a socially engaged artist making sculpture, installation and performative work, and (as half of creative partnership ‘Periscope’) facilitator of public creative projects. Currently exploring Swiss glacial melt and the associated ecological and social impacts, her practice is centred around empathy and the communication and storytelling in current environmental narratives. Her work focuses on two interconnected drives: Material engagement (interactions with common/earthen materials including clay and drawing on paper) and theoretical research (exploring commonalities/shared viewpoints). Both aspects are self-exploratory, subjective, and challenge personal limits, but are explored through public participatory activities.

Emily’s practice involves making and research that explores loss and human/other than human empathy, land-based nostalgia spanning countries and cultures, non-hierarchical participatory works, and the sharing of personal narratives to create new future possibilities focusing on shared responsibilities and development of empathy.

In 2022 Emily started a 12 month Arts Council funded period of research ‘Land, Earth, Empathy’, working with mentors Dr Elizabeth Hodson (anthropologist, GSA and KFI project, Aberdeen), Dougald Hine (culturemaker, Dark Mountain co-founder) and Jürg Alean (glaciologist and geologist), a body of work and research that she is now developing through public projects.

She is a founder member of the artist group Quercus and half of creative partnership Periscope. As well as collaborating with artists and researchers, she has programmed events with writers and philosophers (including Brian Dillon, Mark Currie, Chris Norris). She was artist in residence at ecological research centre Mustarinda in Finland in 2018, artist in residence at Loughborough University 2019 and at the Hardwick Gallery, University of Gloucestershire in 2020.

For more information on current work and research; www.giftsformothermnemosyne.wordpress.com and @emilyjoyartist