Emily’s creative process begins with walking as research to explore new places. Documenting her progress through photography, she analyses the thematic, repetitive features of buildings as well as their structural forms and materiality. These aspects of architecture have the ability to communicate the historical, social and cultural characteristics of a place. She then carefully selects photographs to communicate her ideas, taking both conceptual and aesthetic factors into consideration. Emily uses collaging as a technique to study her images. This allows her to visualise the possible outcomes of her photographs as three-dimensional abstract forms.
Emily is intrigued by our human desire to categorise everything in terms of form and function. This instinct is challenged through her work which sits somewhere between painting, sculpture, object and architecture. Materiality is therefore a fundamental aspect, as the viewer intuitively attempts to define it in terms of medium. Emily selects materials to re-create a sense of place and portray the key characteristics of the represented area.
Colour is also a vital component of Emily’s work and is significant within the architecture that she photographs. Some places embrace bright colours and welcome street art. In contrast, clear white buildings with two-way mirrors reflect capitalist progress, with an attempt to appear as transparent institutions. Colour has the ability to encourage conceptual interpretation and assert visual impact.
Emily was born in a small village in Somerset (UK) and became fascinated by the city when she moved to London in 2014. After completing her Foundation Diploma at Camberwell College of Arts, Emily began her Fine Art degree at Chelsea College of Arts and graduated in 2018. Since then, she has been selected for residencies in Berlin, Taiwan and Barcelona, which have culminated in significant exhibitions. Other career highlights include exhibitions at La peau de l’ours (Brussels) and Oxo Tower (London).
EDUCATION
2015 - 2018 BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts (University of Arts London)
2014 - 2015 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (Distinction), Camberwell College of Arts (UAL)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 Shapeshifter, Soulangh Cultural Park, Tainan, Taiwan
2019 Emily Thomas, GlogauAIR Showcase Window, Berlin
2019 London is Open, Global 12 Festival, London
2018 Hackney, I love you. I lost you., Hoxton Cabin, London
2018 Disintegrating Space, The Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 Anniversary Exhibition, La peau de l’ours, Brussels
2019 Open Studios Exhibition, GlogauAIR, Berlin
2018 Orbit UK Arts Graduated Show, Oxo Tower, London
2018 Young Talents, Tour and Taxis, Affordable Art Fair, Brussels
2018 Black Swan Arts Open, Black Swan Arts, Frome, England
2018 Fine Art Degree Show, Chelsea College of Arts, London
2018 Interim Show, The Cookhouse, London
2018 UAL Olympus Photography Awards, Bermondsey Project Space, London
2017 Translations, The Morgue, London
2017 Second Year Show, The Triangle Space, London
2017 Director and Curator of Honey, I’m Home, A217 Gallery, London
2017 Liminal Ecosystems, Copeland Gallery, London
2016 Artists as Curators, A217 Gallery, London
2016 Territories, DLG13, London
2016 Cognitive Faculties, IKLECTIK Art Lab, London
2015 Synonyms for Exploration, The Cookhouse, London
2015 CCW Foundation Summer Show, Camberwell College of Arts, London
RESIDENCIES
2020 La Escocesa, Barcelona, Funded by La Memoria Artística Chema Alvargonzalez (January - February 2020, to be completed in 2021)
2019 Soulangh Cultural Park, Tainan, Taiwan, Funded by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Tainan City Government (April - June 2019)
2019 GlogauAIR, Berlin, Supported by the European Cultural Foundation (January - March 2019)
PROJECT FUNDING AND GRANTS
2020 Arts Council England: Emergency Response Fund For Individuals
2020 La Memoria Artística Chema Alvargonzalez: Award for a funded residency at La Escocesa, Barcelona
2019 Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Tainan City Government: Artist Work Stipend and Fellowship
2019 European Cultural Foundation: STEP Travel Grant
COMMISSION PRIZES
2018 New Dawn Risk Commission Prize, London
2017 Frontier Economics Commission Prize, London
AWARD NOMINATIONS
2018 The UAL Olympus Photography Award
2016 The Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize