𝗜 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗺 🌺

𝗘𝗺𝗺𝗮 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘆’s 𝗜 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗺

Bourse Imago 2021, presented at Galerie Sans Nom from September 23rd to October 20th 2022.

Emma Delaney (she/her) is an artist from Albert County, New Brunswick, whose work fits within a conceptual framework. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Mount Allison University in 2020 and is now entering the field of Art Education. Delaney has an interdisciplinary practice focusing on installation, textiles, printmaking and daily drawings. Her practice incorporates personal investigations surrounding physical and mental health, past experiences, and queerness. Through her work, she interacts with the relationship between of LGBTQIA2S+ people and rural places. She has spent over a year working in a small fishing community, collaborating with other artists and growing her practice through learning new trades such as raku ceramics and rug hooking. All of these learnings have influenced her overall connection to self/identity in relationship to landscape.

The interest in the juxtaposition of craft and fine art is a natural impulse that occurred after leaving the institutional setting of school and transitioning into a small village. The separation of artisans and artists often referred to in Art History parallels a similar mentality towards queer and female people living within a rural context. The figures presented in my work are various self-portraits. Although they lack realism, they are glimpses into the banality of my life. This idea of slow life exhibited in rurality is adjacent to my experiences as a queer female in early adulthood. This inspiration is presented through my choice of materials and images that are connected to my life in Albert County, New Brunswick. Rug hooking and felting are just a few of the fibre arts used in my practice that have deep connections to rural communities. The use of found materials combined with printmaking is also seen in this body of work, using antiques to construct sculptural pieces. I Was Out Picking Flowers And My Beer Got Warm is a collection of work that ranges from felted puppets, rug hooking, painting, relief and screen printing, to beading and sculpture. This project came to fruition through the formative experience offered by Imago’s Bursary in 2021-2022.