Emma Verhulst b. 1994
Emma Verhulst (°1994) draws for her work on observations, photographs, and found footage. An initial drawing forms the basis for an intuitive, associative, and accumulative process. A narrative, graphic thread underlies the pictures. Emma’s work is characterized by a visual language that evokes a familiar and estranged universe. The complex sensations of alienation, awkwardness and attachment are essential aspects.
The exploration of boundaries is recurring: between the internal/interior and the external/exterior, present and past, depth and surface, the figurative and the abstract. Emma seeks the reconciliation of these opposites, without wanting to blur the lines. Each element retains its identity. The images show fragments, ranging a wide scope of subjects and topics. She combines a manual and digital approach, which she does not experience as contradictory. Both methods are linked to the desire to explore the dematerialized, digital world in a tangible way, and both reveal a fascination for symbols of media and the stories behind them. The work ultimately expresses an inability, the inevitable lack of absolute grammar and perfect agreement.
