“Something in our universe is missing, or rather almost everything, most of the matter in existence. Scientists first noticed this in the 1930s, observing that galaxies were moving much faster than expected and at such speeds should have disbursed or evaporated. They theorised that there must be something as yet unknown keeping the galaxies in place. The Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky, in the 1930s, called this ‘Missing Matter’ at first and later as we know it now, ‘Dark Matter.” - ‘Dark Matter’, BBC In Our Time (Melvyn Bragg), 12 March 2015. Through her drawing, sculpture and installation works, Emma Fielden investigates notions of cosmology, the infinite and the infinitesimal, and systems of belief that surround these concepts. In her ongoing exploration of these themes, she works through materials such as black pigment, hand-crushed ferrite, magnets and ink on paper, in such a way that materiality is a metaphor for matter at its most minute. In her new body of work, Fielden uses magnets and magnetic fields to draw a connection between the once mysterious force of magnetism, and Dark Matter which remains a mystery to us still. In the series of work titled ‘Terrain’, Fielden uses pigment to trace invisible magnetic fields. She arranges magnets into their inherent grid formations, upon which particles of black iron oxide are placed. In doing so, an invisible magnetic field is brought to light, its pattern, form and dimension revealed. ‘Mapping the Void’ is a site specific installation drawn between ceiling and floor. Tiny mountains formed from smashed ferrite magnets and black pigment emerge from the ground and are invisibly connected to lines of thread drawn from above. Fielden’s repetitively handwritten text drawings engage with ideas of prayer, devotional acts, indoctrination, obsession, longing and awe. ‘Relics’ is a series of drawings where Catholic prayers are scribed by hand in dogmatic repetition, overwritten until they can no longer be read. They are at once blind faith, a palimpsest and an act of erasure. ‘Zero’ and ‘Nothing’ is a pair of drawings, infinity’s twin, words repeated and meditated on, form emerging, mapping the void.
‘RELICS: Hail Mary’, 2016, ink on Fabriano Artistico 300 gsm paper, 38 x 38 cm, framed
‘ZERO’, 2016, ink on Arches 300 gsm watercolour paper, 83 x 66 cm, framed
‘RELICS: The Lord’s Prayer’, 2016, ink on Fabriano Artistico 300 gsm paper, 38 x 38 cm, framed
‘NOTHING’, 2016, ink on Arches 300 gsm watercolour paper, 83 x 66 cm, framed
‘RELICS: The Nicene Creed’, 2016, ink on Fabriano Artistico 300 gsm paper, 38 x 38 cm, framed
‘DARK MATTER I’, 2016, iron oxide pigment and neodymium magnets on white primed linen and steel, 33 x 33 cm, framed
‘RELICS: The Rosary’, 2016, ink on Fabriano Artistico 300 gsm paper, 38 x 38 cm, framed
‘DARK MATTER II’, 2016, iron oxide pigment and neodymium magnets on white primed linen and steel, 33 x 33 cm, framed
`TERRAIN I’, 2016, iron oxide pigment, ferrite magnets, steel, 10 x 10 cm
‘`TERRAIN II’, 2016, iron oxide pigment, ferrite magnets, steel, 15 x 15 cm
`TERRAIN III’, 2016, iron oxide pigment, ferrite magnets, steel, 20 x 20 cm
‘MAPPING THE VOID’, 2016, Iron oxide pigment, crushed ferrite magnets, neodymium magnets, linen thread, site specific installation, dimensions variable
Solo Exhibitions 2015 Iota, Gallery Funaki, Melbourne 2015 Infinity, Courtesy Of The Artist, Sydney 2013 Draw, Courtesy Of The Artist, Sydney 2008 Emma Fielden, Studio 20/17, Sydney 2007 Emma Fielden, Metalab, Sydney Selected Group Exhibitions 2016 The Blake Prize, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre The F Show, North Contemporary Art Space, Curated by Abdullah M.I. Syed 2015 Sydney Contemporary, Dominik Mersch Gallery Drawn To Form: The Matter in Hand. Blacktown Arts Centre, Curated by Merran Esson and Abdullah M.I. Syed 2014 National Contemporary Jewellery Award, Griffith Regional Art Gallery, COTA, Sturt Australian Contemporary Craft and Design 2013 Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes. Studio 20/17, Sydney Breathe Into, Courtesy Of The Artist, Jam Factory Profile, Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia NSW, Percolator Gallery, Queensland 2012 Profile, Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia NSW, Gaffa, Sydney National Contemporary Jewellery Award, Griffith Regional Art Gallery, Metalab, Sturt Australian Contemporary Craft and Design The Year Was 2006, Studio 20/17, Sydney
2011 In Line/In Metal, Aaron Faber Gallery New York, SOFA Chicago 11th Ernest Leviny Commemorative Silver Exhibition, Buda Historic Home and Garden Castlemaine 2010 Tea Wares, Jam Factory Contemporary Craft and Design, Adelaide Winter Brooches 10, Studio 20/17, Sydney Wrapped, Studio 20/17, Sydney Say Your Piece, Gaffa, Sydney 2009 10th Ernest Leviny Commemorative Silver Exhibition. Buda Historic Home and Garden Castlemaine, Shepparton Art Gallery, Arts Centre Melbourne, Geelong Art Gallery, Mornington Peninsula Regional Art Gallery Winter Brooches 09, Studio 20/17, Sydney 2008 Profile, Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia NSW Graduate Metal XI, Jewellers and Metalsmiths Group of Australia Winter Brooches 08, Studio 20/17, Sydney Vessel, Studio 20/17, Sydney 2007 Cracker, Metalab, Sydney 2005 Contemporary Wearables ’05, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery, Mosman Art Gallery, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, Maroondah Art Gallery