Emily Beasy
Hello. Let us celebrate together all things wild, gentle, and uncanny. My artistic roots are embedded in illustration and a life-long curiosity of the natural world. Alongside conservation and animal welfare, my artistic practice pivots on themes of inter-species bonds, vulnerability, motherhood, femininity, symbiotic relationships, biology and psychology. My works strive to bring an awareness of the often-lost natural world back into people’s daily lives.
My honours project visually investigates scientific research in ethology and anthrozoology in order to portray the cognitive abilities of non-human species. My textile and sculptural biological forms illustrate, examine and inform relationships between human and non-human species through the reconstruction of physiological and psychological characteristics. Through visual juxtaposition and harmony I strive to build empathetic bridges between viewer and subject with the intention of validating non-human animals as sentient, intelligent beings.
This year my work specifically focused on the class Cephalopoda and its incredible capacity for higher intelligence. While the process of creating each slow and fiddly element of these works became a therapeutic aid, by slowing down my research came full circle and I was better able to appreciate the diverse intricacies of my subjects through their physical manifestation.
See-pods, 2020
Lotus pods, clay, acrylic, lichen and wood
150mm x 100mm x 100mm
Raybia, 2020
Repurposed upholstery fabric, sequins, lace, velvet, acrylic and clay
200mm x 600mm x 1000mm
Coral (detail), 2020
Paper-mache, wood, clay, sequins and acrylic
600mm x 600mm x 600mm
Mother, 2016
Watercolour, acrylic and pen on paper
600mm x 600mm x 600mm
Completely (detail), 2020
Watercolour, gouache, acrylic and pen on paper
760mm x 560mm
’Subtly', 'Completely' and 'Gently', 2020
Watercolour, gouache, acrylic and pen on paper
760mm x 2000mm x 500mm
OctEYEpus, 2020
Acrylic gouache, watercolour and pen on paper
760mm x 560mm
