When you think about the strong and wise women who have graced your life, do clear images quickly pop into your mind? As the stories of powerful female trailblazers are shared publicly and offered as inspiration to the next generation, can you point to a series of readily available images?
Toward the goal of capturing this energy and spirit, artist Samantha Louise Emery is focusing on 10 modern female trailblazers in her new multimedia portrait series IKONA/Wise Women. Emery’s multimedia series, which will be showcased in London during October 2020, will shine a bright light on female solidarity and strength.
After meeting each woman in person, the artist is currently in the process of weaving their multi-layered narratives and diverse stories onto canvas. She is using an amalgam of photo-compositing, hand embroidery and brush paint to create portrayals that are as complex and powerful as her chosen subjects. Demonstrating her rich and distinctive aesthetic in this multimedia portrait series, Emery translates her subject’s unique feminine auras and wisdom into her original artworks.
The 10 female icons in Emery’s new IKONA series are:
• Andrea Luka Zimmerman – Artist and cultural activist
• Asieh Amini – Award-winning Iranian poet and journalist
• Kathryn Kemp-Griffin – Women’s advocate, entrepreneur and author
• Özge Borak – Turkish actress
• Char Ellesse – Instagram sensation and entrepreneur
• Andrea McLean – Scottish journalist and author
• The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson – Former Governor General of Canada
• Marianne McKenna – Distinguished Canadian architect
• Tara Westover – Best-selling American author
• Emma Frank – Musician and singer-songwriter
London-born artist Samantha Louise Emery completed her ceramic and design degree at Central Saint Martins in 1993. In 1992, she won the award at the Young People’s Film & Video Festival for her short film Night Shift, inspired by the work of Sylvia Plath. Emery then moved to Canada and debuted several series of paintings, which she exhibited in Toronto and New York. The multimedia artist splits her time between the UK and her studio in Bodrum, Turkey, her spiritual home.
Ten percent of revenues from the sale of the IKONA/Wise Women portraits will go to the charity of each woman’s choice.