Emma Hopkins Art

Artist Statement

Throughout Semester 1 and 2, my artwork has explored the contrast between the organic beauty of nature and the harsh ugliness of human-caused destruction. While my earlier investigations were aimed at finding beauty within destruction itself, my more recent work shifted focus towards interrogating how industrialisation and environmental exploitation distort and degrade these landscapes. My work aims to expose this conflict through experimentation with materials, extreme contrasts, and immersive installations that encourage the viewers to reflect on their own role in environmental harm.

My work this year has centred around the question of: How does human intervention distort and degrade natural beauty? My approach to answering this question has been influenced by artists who explore environmental wreckage and contrasts such as Agnes Denes, particularly her work Wheatfield – A Confrontation (1982), where she planted a two-acre field of golden wheat in the shadow of Manhattan’s skyline. This powerful juxtaposition of natural growth against industrial power resonated deeply with me, inspiring me to create works that not only depict environmental damage but also evoke an emotional response, forcing viewers to understand the consequences of human actions.

Further inspiration came from the Flowers exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, where artists used floral imagery to convey the fragility of nature against environmental destruction. Many pieces featured wilting flowers, polluted by industrial materials, serving as memorials for lost ecosystems. This exhibition demonstrated to me how art can be used to expose ecological damage through the use of metaphors and materiality. It encouraged me to experiment with a wider variety of materials and techniques to communicate the precarious balance between nature and human exploitation.

To fully explore my theme, I engaged in a series of material experiments, each investigating different forms of environmental degradation. For example, using mixed media I created a visual representation of water pollution—in particular ocean contamination. In this study, water symbolised the sea, while oil and red food colouring dramatized pollution’s frightening effects. I also added simplified drawings of dying fish and plants to emphasise the lethal impact of human negligence. Another study I completed was a burning installation, where I set alight a sculpture consisting of tissue paper, natural grass, and leaves, which I captured in slow-motion video. The idea behind this was to demonstrate the slow-acting yet deadly effects of environmental problems caused by humans, such as wildfires exacerbated by climate change.

My final piece consisted of a framed mixed-media work that bluntly contrasts a serene watercolour landscape with the harsh, charcoal-rendered structures of Helkyn Quarry. The watercolour image in the background represents untouched nature with its simple yet colourful imagery, while the charcoal drawing of the quarry’s industrial buildings embodies industrial intrusion, using uncontrolled and untidy mark-making techniques. The frame itself is a critical component—painted white with red and black handprints, symbolising humanity’s literal and metaphorical imprint on nature. The frame’s glass was deliberately shattered and reassembled, creating a web of fractures. This physically demonstrates the severity of environmental damage, showing how it is irreversible: once broken, the glass cannot return to its original state. The use of the fractured glass also encourages viewers to reflect on their own damage toward the environment by literally looking through the broken glass to see the landscape behind it.

Overall, this semester my early experiments explored different forms of environmental degradation, leading to a final piece that sums up these investigations into a powerful visual statement. The contrast between delicate watercolour and aggressive charcoal, framed by shattered glass, encapsulated humanity’s fractured relationship with nature. Moving forward, I would like to explore more large-scale installations or paintings—perhaps incorporating other senses into the work, such as using soundscapes of industrial sites or natural landscapes to deepen the immersive experience. I would also like to bring a psychological aspect into my work, perhaps by looking at colour theory and understanding why I personally feel drawn to vibrant colours to convey landscapes. Overall, my goal is to create art that goes beyond just depicting destruction—where it provokes reflection and evokes emotion when viewed.