Emma Coady
she/her
Good and Full and Empty
This body of work is a confessional of sorts. The paintings represent both fantasy and reality. The aim is to reflect on physical experiences such as pleasure or discomfort, as well as more abstract experiences of romanticisation, yearning and fantasy. The work has a strong bond to personal and psychological processes. This comes from a contemplation on eating disorders: binging and starving, as well as from some introspection about habits of creating fantasies, romanticising and yearning.
In my research, I have drawn primarily from my own life and personal experiences, both external and internal. My visual references come from daily life, and from my admiration of expressionism in art and decorative practices throughout history. These paintings aim to offer a visual representation of what a life can feel like, in both mind and body.
Bedroom (Full), 2025, oil on canvas, 128 x 70cm
Party, 2025, oil on canvas, 110 x 128cm
Decorated cabinet, 2025
Jug, 2025, oil on plywood
Empty Space, 2025, oil on canvas, 110 x 128cm
Research
In-studio: Kissing on the Carpet and your Tights around your Ankles (left) and Walking in the Park (right)
Via Mezzacosta, in studio, 2025
Studio research.