Emily Heath is an artist based on Gadigal Country/Sydney, Australia. In addition to her Honours Degree in Fine Arts from the National Art School, she holds a degree in History and Anthropology from the University of Sydney and a Diploma of Fashion Design from TAFE Ultimo. Emily’s professional background spans fashion, textiles and jewellery.

I am an artist and a mother. There is a persistent tearing sensation in the collision of these roles - of always being in two places at once, but never quite giving enough to either. My practice emerges from this tension, and tests its generative potential.

The kitchen table in the morning - still scattered with the residue of care, food, and small disasters - mirrors the surfaces of my works. Using oil paint, oil sticks, paper and plywood, I make pieces that are not quite collages, almost paintings and sometimes assemblages. My process is physical, fast and often unruly. I push, hammer, wipe, drag, tear, staple, remove and reattach, working across multiple pieces at once. Complex surfaces develop through layering, interruption, and reconfiguration.