Emily Copeland
Working in charcoal, Emily Copeland focuses on recreating objects on a larger scale. Realism, and the act of mimesis are two artistic forms Copeland finds fascinating. She uses digital photography and Photoshop to first generate her images. Photos are always her preliminary approach when it comes to creating something original. After photographing, she then draws these items on a larger scale. To iterate, her goal is to mimic the exact version of the photograph with her chosen medium; which is charcoal. She enjoys focusing on detailed vintage or retro objects as her subject matter. The elements within her drawings are blown up much larger than life size to give it a surreal effect. This gives the audience a unique viewpoint that exposes detail they wouldn’t normally see. She also brings vintage objects into a modern context by conveying them on plain, clean backgrounds. Many artists from the Baroque era inspire her, such as Caravaggio, La Tour, and Velazque. It is their focus on mimesis; replicating what they see; and their use of chiaroscuro which draws her to their works. Her current influences are Jonathan Delafield Cook, Diego Koi and Clio Newton, primarily because they work from photographs to create hyper realistic works. Copeland chooses to let the meaning behind each piece remain anonymous, as this gives each audience members the ability to find their own unique meaning throughout each piece. Her intentions behind this is because she thinks everyone can find their own personal interpretation to each work of art, and it should never be restricted to only one viewpoint. With each different series, she hopes to please a wide range of audiences with the objects she’s chosen.
