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Emma Critchley is an artist who uses a combination of photography, film, sound and installation to continually explore the human relationship with the underwater environment as a political, philosophical and environmental space. She is Royal College of Art alumni and has developed works funded by organisations including The National Media Museum, Arts Council England, British Council, Singapore International Foundation, British Academy and the European Regional Development Fund. Her work has been shown extensively nationally and internationally in galleries and institutions including The Australian Centre of Photography, the ICA Singapore, The National Portrait Gallery, the Royal Academy, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and Tate St Ives.
In 2019 she completed a short film funded by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation called ‘Common Heritage’, about the imminent threat of deep-sea mining for rare earth minerals. For this she worked with experts in deep sea ecology and law at the National Oceanography Centre and Universities of Plymouth & Southampton.
In collaboration with artist Lee Berwick, Emma has developed a large-scale public soundscape about underwater acoustic pollution, working with a number of organisations including the British Antarctic Survey, the Californian Ocean Alliance and the National Maritime Museum. This had its initial installation in the Greenwich Foot Tunnel at the beginning of 2020 and they're now looking to tour.
In 2019, Emma was the winner of the EARTH WATER SKY residency programme with Science Gallery Venice, where she has been working with the Ice Memory Project. The resulting film installation launched in the official Italian pavilion of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021 and went on to be exhibited in partnersip with Science Gallery Venice in September.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS & SCREENINGS2022
'Witness' 3-screen installation with live performance, Brighton Festival, Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Brighton, UK
'The Bird & The Elephant', KK Chambers, hosted by TARQ Mumbai & SqwLab for The Show Windows, Coventry City of Culture, Mumbai, India
2021
'The Bird & The Elephant', series of outdoor screenings for Coventry City of Culture, Coventry, UK
'Witness' 2-screen film installation, Official Italian Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale, Italy
'Witness' 2-screen film installation, Sala del Camino, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice, Italy
2020'The Space Below', public sound installation in the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, London, UK
2019'Common Heritage', Aesthetica Film Festival, York, UK
‘Seismic Cities’, Orbital Dago, Bandung, Java, Indonesia
‘209 Women’ Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, UK
2018
'209 Women', Porticulus House, Palace of Westminster, London
'At the Violet Hour', The Nayland Rock Hotel, Margate
'Slow violence', University of Hertfordshire, London
2017'Film for Friday' screenings (August- September), Tate St Ives, Cornwall
‘From Selfie to Self-Expression’, Saatchi Gallery, London
‘Present Tense’, Phoenix Gallery, Brighton
‘Ocean Imaginaries’, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia
2016
'Then Listens to Returning Echoes', b-side Festival, Portland
'The Water Sinks Down With Them'. Public installation commissioned by Opera North Projects The Southbank Centre, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Leeds Central Library.
2015
'UK/RAINE', Saatchi Gallery, London
'Subtle Interchange', NARS Foundation, New York
Screening of film commission 'THEY', Royal Geographic Society International Conference, University of Exeter
‘Work, Rest and Play: British Photography from the 1960s to Today’: The Photographers Gallery & Pin Projects Beijing. Shenzhen OCT-LOFT, China
'When the Waters Recede: research', Plymouth Arts Centre, Plymouth
'At the Still Point of the Turning World' solo exhibition, Cabin Gallery, London
'In our blood' Home residency screening, Cliftonville, Margate
2014
‘The Last Breath’, Clearlake Hotel, Kensington, London
'Minutes Passing Slowly', The Regency Town House, Brighton
'Saatchi & Google Motion Photography Prize', The Saatchi Gallery, London
'Ludus Festival: Performance, Place, Possibility', Leeds
'Embrace' The Wilson, Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, Cheltenham
2013'THE FUTURE CAN WAIT', Victoria House, London
‘Night Contact’ one night multimedia festival, Gillett Square, London
‘Masquerade’, White Moose Gallery, Barnstaple
‘On the Perimeter: The Edge of Photography’, High House, Oxon
‘Michelangelo Schultern. Load, force and form in sculpture & photography’, Gerhard Marcks Haus, Bremen, Germany
'Aria', commission for HOUSE 2013 festival, Brighton
'Suspended Moment' solo show, The Front View, Whitstable
'Disappearing Moon', Asia House, London
'A House of Many Windows', Collier Bristowe Gallery, London
'Disappearing Moon', ICA Singapore, Singapore
2012
'Salon Art Prize', Matt Roberts Gallery & the Griffin Gallery, London, UK
'Microcosmos', The Goodman Arts Centre, Singapore
'DiverseCity', Singapore Art Museum & 8Q, Singapore
'Fresh Faced & Wild Eyed', The Photographers' Gallery, London, UK
'The World in London', an offsite exhibition presented by The Photographers Gallery, London, UK
'Surface Tension: The Future of Water', Eyebeam Art & Technology Centre, New York, USA
'Candid Berlin', Universität der Künste Berlin, Berlin, Germany
'The Oriel Davies Open', The Oriel Davies Gallery, Powys, UK
'Fragmented Utopia', Space 54, Rivington Street, London, UK
'Skepto International Film Festival' Cagliari, Italy (also screened in Bologna, Florence, Milan,
Naples, Perugia, Barcelona, Sežana, Krško, Trbovlje, Madrid)
‘The Open West’, Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester, UK
2011
'Saatchi Gallery & Channel 4's New Sensations' Victoria House, London, UK
‘Surface Tension: The Future of Water’ Dublin Science Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
'Sustain' The Royal College of Art, London, UK
‘Video In Britain Today’ Bermondsey Project Space, London, UK
‘Anthology’ Charlie Smith Gallery, London, UK
‘The Royal College of Art Final Show’ The Royal College of Art, London, UK
2010
‘Undercurrents' as part of the Brighton Photo Fringe, Fringe Focus, Brighton, UK
'Album' as part of the Liverpool Biennial Independents, Wolstenhome Creative Space, Liverpool, UK
'Between Two Truths' Foremans Smokehouse Gallery, London, UK
'The Fear of Falling' Engine, London, UK
'The Royal College of Art Interim Show' The Royal College of Art, London, UK
2009
‘From Here’ The Brighton Photo Fringe, Moore House, Brighton, UK
‘The Terry O’Neill Award’ The Independent Photographers Gallery, Battle, UK
2008
‘Contemporary Portraits’ The Photographers Gallery, London, UK
‘The Terry O’Neill Award’ Fulham Palace, London, UK
‘The Fear of Falling’ A collaboration with Sophie Lewis. Shunt Vaults, London Bridge, London, UK
2006-2007
‘1 1=3: Collaboration in Recent British Portraiture’ The Australian Centre for Photography. Sydney, Australia
‘To Hold One’s Breath’ Platform. Winnipeg, Canada
‘1 1=3: Collaboration in Recent British Portraiture’ The City of Freemantle Festival of Photography. Freemantle, Australia
‘To Hold One’s Breath’ Le Mois de la Photo Festival. L’Espace F. Montreal, Canada
Solo Exhibition Farringdon, London, UK
EDUCATION
2009-2011 The Royal College of Art. MA in Photography
2001-2004 University of Brighton. Photography BA (HONS)
AWARDS
2015 'UK/RAINE' award: Firtash Foundation and Saatchi Gallery finalist
2014 The Saatchi Gallery 'Motion Photography Prize' finalist
2012 ‘The Salon Art Prize’ shortlisted
2011 ‘Anthology’ The Charlie Smith Gallery finalist
2011 Winner of the Royal College of Art 'RCA Sustain: Moving Minds' award
2011 The Saatchi Gallery and Channel 4's 'New Sensations' finalist
2009 Nominated for KLM Paul Huf Award
2008 The Terry O’Neill Award shortlist
2008 AOP Assistants Awards shortlist
2008 The British Underwater Image Festival: Winner of Best Image in Show
2005 The Joan Wakelin Award Finalist (Awarded by The Guardian & RPS)
2004 Schweppes Photographic Portrait Prize finalist
2004 Winner of Lynn Cohen Stroud House Gallery Award
2004 Winner of AOP Student Photographer of the Year Award
2004 Winner of Burt Brill & Cardens Graduate Show Awards
2004 Nagoya University Japan Graduate Show Awards: 2nd Prize
COMMISSIONS/BURSARIES
2016 Opera North film commission
2016 B-Side Festival commission
2015 Arts Council R&D: When the Waters Recede
2015 Film commission: Exeter University & ESRC
2014 Home in Cliftonville, Margate
2013 Commission for HOUSE 2013
2011 Commission from The Photographers Gallery
2010 Leverhulme Trust Bursary
2009 Lambeth Arts Community Photography Project
2008 The National Media Museum Photography Bursary
2008 The Arts Council England: ‘The Fear of Falling’
2006 The Commonwealth Broadcasting Association: ‘Myanmar’s Sea Gypsies’
RESIDENCIES
2016 Fresh Milk residency, Barbados
2015 NARS Foundation residency, New York
2015 Floodtide, UK
2014 Home in Cliftonville, Margate
2014 National Trust Bucks Mills Residency
2012 AIRX Residency Singapore
2012 The Meantime Project Space Residency
COLLECTIONS
Mark Clannachan
The Royal College of Art
The National Media Museum