Making waves in South East London, interdisciplinary artist and community builder, Emma Sielaff is one for your up and coming radar. Emma is a half-Filipino artist hailing from Chicago, Illinois – whose work spans from events curation all the way to printmaking. After attaining her Masters of Fine Art in Printmaking from Camberwell College of Arts, her work throughout the spaces just South of the Thames is palpable.
Emma’s most recent project is Markets as Communion. Otherwise known as Good Junk this will be the name of her upcoming zine, documenting the project. This series specifically focuses on the way that we fixate our energies around inanimate objects and what it can mean for community building longer term. This series begs the question: How can we develop connections across artefacts of an unknown past? Emma has arrived to show us how. This project will be documented via a photography collection, turned risograph zine. The final product will detail where humanity meets “discarded objects, such as knick knacks, mementos, trinkets, toys” and other common treasures found specifically at markets that would otherwise “be seen as junk”.
In a world that is constantly seeking to deepen our emotional ties by misguided chronically-online tendencies, often we find ourselves more disconnected than ever. In this body of work, Emma challenges the way that we look to disused objects of another’s past, as an avenue for insight into a life not ours, but possibly similar. As we take home new-to-us common artefacts, we simultaneously repurpose time as it solidifies into memories imbued within these very same objects. Photography is an integral part of the documentation of this work as it allows the viewership to understand visually, the ways in which we would’ve otherwise overlooked physical versions of affection’s past. Now in new hands, headed to new homes, thus creating a sense of community that is as tactile as it is elusive.
There is an obvious through line with Emma’s work, constantly seeking connection through otherwise unforeseen avenues. During her master’s course, she developed a project called Lucky Charms, in which a collection of risograph prints showcased a series of four leaf clovers that she personally discovered and collected. The prints were displayed alongside a backlit series of the preserved clovers themselves, bringing the tangible to the digital. There is an air of whimsy to her craft, focusing on “everyday dreamlike realities, such as superstitions, luck rituals, nostalgia”. Daydreams inform her of each passing project, focusing on digging up the silver linings and the otherwise invisible strings that tether us to our communities. Focusing on photo documentation, the “unseen realm” comes to the fore. We find ourselves able to step into versions of artistic creation otherwise unknown, if not for her articulate guidance along the way.
In addition to her work on this specific project, Emma has also focused tremendous energy on another ongoing series called TroubleMaker Marketswhich has been ongoing for over two years now. These events are specifically focused around community and uplifting creative voices in South East London. These markets create platforms for artists to develop their craft and sell their work, often for the first time. These events draw quite a vast stretching crowd, becoming a temporary home to 30-40 stall holders at a time, consistently garnering hundreds in attendance. Creating avenues for new artists and small business owners to flourish, Emma is leading a sounding call that these spaces can be accessible for anyone, and this is the exact pinpoint where community builds. In times that are arguably becoming more and more difficult and isolating, its creatives like Emma who are paving ways for understanding via flexing and medium-bending creative avenues.
Follow Emma Sielaff On Instagram
Words: Lauren Bulla