Samantha Louise Emery
Samantha Louise Emery is an interdisciplinary artist from England and Canada living in Türkiye. Emery’s exploration of humanity’s complex interconnection within the biodiversity of life has been aided by her residence in these countries. She visually maps these networks through conceptual abstract paintings and her practice of combining self portrait photography, hand and machine embroidery, hand sewn beads and sequins, and paintwork onto canvas. Visual activism representing the positive powers of women is central to her practise, with the artist acting as a conduit in channelling the multiple feminine layers into her artworks. Emery depicts these influences in her portraiture IKONA project dedicated to the fertile woman energy that inspires her journey as a female creative. Her visual activism is not only to promote an appreciation for the significant qualities of women but to contribute consciously to our global society. Emery donates 10% of proceeds from her IKONA collections to a variety of global charities.
In your series Warrior Way, you explore the self in connection with nature, inner growth, and outer awareness. Can you describe how these elements—nature, personal evolution, and global consciousness—intersect in your own journey, and how they translate into your work as an artist channeling the 'feminine layers'?
In my own journey, nature acts as a grounding force that aligns with personal growth, offering lessons in resilience and adaptation. Inner evolution often begins with self-awareness, which leads to a deeper connection to global consciousness. These elements intersect in my work through the feminine layers in my IKONA | Warrior Way series, where I explore how the feminine energy, often cyclical like nature itself, intertwines with the forces shaping personal and collective realities.
Your art focuses on the female gaze from the female perspective, highlighting spiritual, emotional, and physical powers. How does this female gaze shift traditional narratives of vulnerability in art, and in what ways do you use vulnerability as a strength when representing the female form?
The female gaze in my work challenges traditional narratives by shifting from a portrayal of vulnerability as weakness to vulnerability as a form of strength and authenticity. I represent the female form as a powerful conduit for emotions and spiritual depth, celebrating the layers of vulnerability that actually empower women when they reclaim their own stories.
In your IKONA project, you emphasize the "fertile woman energy" that drives your creativity. How do you balance the multiplicity of this energy—spiritual, emotional, and physical—in your portraiture, and what role does your interdisciplinary approach play in capturing the complex identities of women?
Balancing the spiritual, emotional and physical aspects of fertile female energy is central to my IKONA project. My interdisciplinary approach, using photography, painting and textile arts, helps me capture the complexities of feminine identity. Each medium expresses a different layer of womanhood, whether it is the raw emotion in photography or the tactile connection of hand sewn work that grounds the portraits in physicality.
Your work often delves into the positive powers of women, visually and conceptually. In your view, how does the act of representing female power in art contribute to societal change? What kind of impact do you hope your visual activism has on a global scale?
By representing female power, I aim to confront societal constructs that have historically diminished women’s roles. Art can inspire change by offering a visual narrative of empowerment, inviting viewers to reconsider entrenched ideas. My hope is that this visual activism not only elevates the feminine experience but also contributes to a global rethinking of gender, leading to greater equality.
The process of combining mediums like self-portrait photography, embroidery, and painting is highly instinctual in your work. How does your artistic process act as a form of self-exploration, and how does it reflect the larger themes of feminine strength and empowerment you aim to express?
My artistic process is a deep dive into self-exploration, where each medium, whether photography, embroidery or painting, becomes a reflective mirror. This process mirrors the themes of feminine strength and empowerment, as it requires both vulnerability and resilience, which are integral to expressing the multifaceted nature of womanhood.
In a world where female bodies are often commodified or objectified, how do you navigate the tension between the personal and political in your nude life drawings and self-portraits, especially in terms of reclaiming agency and ownership over the female form?
Navigating the tension between personal and political in my nude life drawings and self-portraits is an ongoing act of reclamation. By creating these images, I reclaim agency over the representation of the female form, transforming it from an object of gaze to a symbol of personal empowerment and ownership, reflecting the depth of feminine identity beyond external labels.
Your Xpress series of female nude life drawings captures a raw and intimate aspect of the feminine experience. How do these conté drawings on newsprint contribute to the dialogue about the female body in art, and what emotional or spiritual messages are you hoping to convey through the medium?
The rawness of the Xpress series is a deliberate choice to strip down the female experience to its essence. The conté on newsprint evokes a sense of immediacy and fragility, while also speaking to the resilience of the female form. Through these drawings, I aim to communicate both the physical and spiritual dimensions of womanhood, unmediated by societal expectations.
You live in Türkiye, having roots in both England and Canada, and your work reflects the complex interconnection between humanity and biodiversity. How do the different cultural landscapes you’ve experienced shape your understanding of femininity and your representation of it in your visual activism?
The diversity of cultural experiences from Türkiye, England and Canada gives me a multi-layered perspective on femininity. Each landscape has its own relationship with gender roles and these inform how I represent femininity in my work. My visual activism draws from these different cultural narratives, blending them to challenge both local and global understandings of the female experience.
The intricacies of hand-sewn beads, sequins, and machine embroidery in your work seem to symbolize the careful construction of identity. How do you see the interplay of these delicate, labor-intensive techniques with the broader themes of strength and resilience in your exploration of female empowerment?
The intricate techniques I use, such as hand sewing beads and embroidery, reflect the slow, deliberate construction of identity. These labor intensive methods parallel the resilience and strength I see in women, as the time and care required to create each piece mirrors the effort and determination that goes into shaping one's own identity in a world that often seeks to diminish it.
You donate 10% of the proceeds from your IKONA collections to global charities, linking your art with humanitarian action. What motivates this decision, and how do you envision the connection between art, activism, and philanthropy evolving in your future projects?
Linking my art with humanitarian efforts reflects my belief in the power of creativity to contribute to social change. The decision to donate to global charities comes from a desire to extend the impact of my work beyond the canvas, making a tangible difference in the world. Moving forward, I envision expanding this relationship between art, activism and philanthropy, using my creative platform to foster even greater social engagement.
Samantha Louise Emery
social media : samanthaikona
