Spirit of Eden new works by Emma Bass

Artist Emma Bass exhibits her works at Boyd-Dunlop Gallery.

World-renowned photographer and artist Emma Bass is having a show of new works at Boyd-Dunlop Gallery Napier, opening this Friday, February 10, 5-7pm.

Emma has recently exhibited in London and the USA and has had plenty of well-deserved press, says gallery director Elisa Boyd-Dunlop. She says Spirit of Eden brings together works that challenge the distinction between the natural and the artificial.

Emma Bass with a selection of vases in her exhibition.

“In her floral portraits, Emma’s fresh floral compositions include creatures at various stages of their life cycle; these works invite us to contemplate lifespan in terms of mortality and regeneration.”

In contrast, Emma’s Interrupted Eden works present artificial flowers in a range of beautiful New Zealand settings.

“These works question the sustainability of the market for single use cut flowers versus the longer life cycle of man-made flowers, and whether both affect us in similar ways.”

Emma says these works in combination challenge us in slightly different ways, with the question of whether beauty is illusionary, what constitutes a sustainable existence and what is natural and what is man made in the anthropocene.

“I am always interested in exploring our mortality and the ephemeral within this complex world we both inhabit and create”

Spirit of Eden runs at the Boyd-Dunlop Gallery, 4 Hastings St, Napier from Friday, February 10 until Friday, March 3