Primarily, my creative focus regards subjects around environmental conservation and eco-maintenance by utilizing surrounding ecosystems without disrupting pristine areas. Through collecting and recycling organic and synthetic materials, I create abstract reflections of natural habitats. In contrast to the environmental context within my work, I incorporate non-traditional elements like gold, tinfoil, cloth and various textured materials. In addition to this, I explore expressionist portraiture and anomalous figures. Using a combination of color, shape, texture and tone I explore the ambiguity of stylized and structural beauty. Within the juxtaposing form and imagery, the subject of my works asks the audience to question the relationship between the apparent and the hidden; to consider what exists beyond what is seen. I understand art as an unparalleled gateway that channels emotional expression and creative consciousness into a visual language. This unlimited platform motivates me because it demands engagement, reflection and communal effort.
Emmette is a South African and Canadian multidisciplinary artist, now based in Toronto, Ontario. She was raised in an artistic household, having both her father and aunt being painters.
Growing up in British Columbia, Emmette’s work took inspiration from the natural haven of nature that is B.C and harmonized that with the traditional stylistic practices of South African art; leading her to utilize obscure materials and recycled resources in her paintings. During this period, she took courses at Emily Carr University before moving to Toronto and completing her
Honors BFA at York University circa 2023. Through her involvement with Toronto’s eccentric arts scenes and its underground subcultures, Emmettes work adapted from expressionist portraiture and figurative abstract paintings to contemporary works of environmental commentary and eco preservation.