“In my paintings, I attempt to depict surroundings that show evidence of the human gaze through paint application reminiscent of sunspots on the retina, or migraine aura. I also insert paint forms that appear to exist on a different plane, to create portals to environments that are governed neither by wilderness nor humankind. These paintings show environments that are forever marked by human interaction, despite the passing of time. A human has seen these depicted places, and that marking can never be undone or forgotten. The environments continue to live on in the mind of the individual. Multiple locations, experienced at different times, can simultaneously inhabit a single picture plane in the mind of the observer. These paintings explore the concept that Wilderness can be considered as a product of human perception.”

Emma White is a recent graduate of the Queen’s University Fine Art program, specializing in oil painting. She has recently shown work in the Ontario Society of Artists 2019 Emerging Artist Juried Exhibition, as well as with Warbling Collective in London, UK. She currently lives in Toronto, and is a resident in the Akin Collective X MOCA Studio Program.