Emily Thomas is an internationally exhibiting visual artist and woodworker exploring architecture as an indicator of place identity. Specifically, she studies the history, society and culture of particular places, initially through the thematic features of buildings, as well as their structural forms, materiality and colour. She uses photography to document her observations of these characteristics and then carries out academic research to inform, contextualise and reaffirm her findings. Taking her practical and theoretical studies into consideration, Emily then selects her most informative photographs to make collages and inspire drawings. This allows her to study her images further, kickstarting conceptual ideas and sculptural designs.
Emily became fascinated by urban environments when she moved from the British countryside to London in 2014. Throughout her studies at Chelsea College of Arts (University of the Arts London) Emily developed her research of architecture, gentrification and urbanistics, and produced multiple artworks and exhibitions based on the city’s urban infrastructure. She has completed artist residencies in Berlin and Taiwan, and is currently developing another project in Barcelona. In Taiwan, Emily explored six architectural genres influenced by invading colonies across time. In Barcelona, she is focusing on continuing gentrification in Poblenou as a result of the 1992 Olympics. Emily’s Berlin residency uncovered new interests and questions about gentrification and affordable housing that she wishes to develop further during her upcoming artist residency at ZK/U (Centre for Art and Urbanistics) Berlin.
Emily’s overall knowledge of architecture, urbanistics and gentrification is combined with her technical skills in construction and carpentry, alongside her artistic skills in painting, drawing, photography and collage. This allows her to effectively develop and communicate innovative conceptual ideas with regards to place identity and architecture through distinct aesthetic means. Her final artworks are indefinable in terms of medium as they sit somewhere between painting, sculpture, object and architecture.
EDUCATION
2015 - 2018 BA (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts (University of Arts London)
2014 - 2015 Foundation Diploma in Art & Design, Camberwell College of Arts (University of Arts London)
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
2021 X-treme, curated by Lily Fürstenow, Online at e-mERGING a r t i S T S
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