LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Analyse and interpret themes, concepts and ideas in Emery’s work and discuss how he uses materials and techniques to realise his intentions.
- Apply the art elements and principles to an interpretation of Emery’s work.
- Examine Emery’s work through the Interpretive Lenses and discuss the use of collaboration in his practice.
- Identify and analyse the presentation of Emery’s work in Melbourne Now.
INTRODUCTION TO TROY EMERY AND MELBOURNE NOW
Troy Emery is a Melbourne-based contemporary artist whose practice combines sculpture, painting and drawing. He primarily works with textiles and sculpture, creating animal-like forms that examine the discourse surrounding fine art, craft and the delineations between the two. Emery’s practice also examines our positioning within the natural world. As he tells us in the video series, ‘a key element in my work is the wonder of nature and a sense of the world being bigger than us.’
The exhibition Melbourne Now celebrates new and ambitious local art and design. It highlights the extraordinary work of more than 200 Victorian-based artists, designers, studios and firms and includes a range of disciplines, from fashion and jewellery to painting, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, video, performance, printmaking and publishing. For the exhibition, the NGV commissioned Emery to create a new work: Mountain climber, 2022, his largest sculptural work to date.
INTRODUCTION TO TROY EMERY VIDEOS
In the following six videos, Emery discusses his early years, including his first gallery and museum experiences and how these have inspired his career and ultimately shaped his practice. Emery also discusses his use of materials, techniques, and processes and how he represents ideas and communicates meaning in his work.
These videos can be viewed sequentially or individually and incorporated into the classroom.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
- Outline the main themes and ideas in Emery’s work. What ideas does Emery want to communicate?
- Identify and consider Emery’s creative practice. What materials and techniques does he use, and how do they represent his ideas and achieve a particular style in his artworks?
- Consider the Interpretive Lenses in an analysis of Emery’s work. How might you interpret his work through the Personal or Cultural lens?
- In the Introduction, Emery tells us he uses ‘craft materials that are not maybe considered as having the same kind of theoretical weight as traditional sculptural, fine art materials’. What do you think he might mean by this, and how does this idea contribute to our understanding of the meanings and messages in his work?
- Discuss Emery’s use of the art elements (such as line, colour, shape, texture and form) and principles (like balance, contrast, movement, proportion, repetition, rhythm and scale). How has this contributed to the distinctive aesthetic qualities in his artworks?
- What role does Emery hope the artwork might play in society? What role do you think it might play in society and culture?
- What have you learned from Troy Emery’s art practice that you might apply to your own creative practice?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES