Interview with Emma Nahmani
Born in 1976, Emma Nahmani is a self taught watercolour artist that follows her heart. After graduating from Hobart College in 1993, she embarked on a decade of travel adventures, hitchhiking her way around Europe and Australia.
In 2004, she settled in Berlin where she became part of the underground movement. Whilst in Germany, she edited ‘Abolishing the Borders from Below’, an Eastern European Anarchistic paper. She also devoted much of her time to painting and drawing. In 2006 she returned to Tasmania where in 2009 her son was born. In 2014 she wrote and illustrated a children’s book that was published and launched by the Tasmanian publishing house, Forty Degrees South. In the same year, her book illustrations were exhibited in a group exhibition on Bruny Island as part of the ‘Book an Adventure’ festival launch.
Over the past few years Emma has continued to paint and draw, exploring and expanding on her interest in the relationship between the human, animal and symbolic.
At what age did you become interested in art?
I was born in Scotland, and we had highland ponies. My love of horses started from before I can remember, and my brother and I had hobby horses we played with from early on.
We moved to Australia when I was 4, and it was a couple of years before we got horses again. I loved my first pony and used to draw horses obsessively. I can't say I was ever particularly good at it, and I remember the back legs often bothered me, and I would cover them up with the tail.
I live in rural Tasmania — surrounded by a striking landscape that fills me with inspiration. My studio sits up high, surrounded by fields, overlooking the Huon River and the Wilderness beyond. I live there with animals of all types, both domestic and wild. I am especially influenced by my horses, and the many ravens and black cockatoos that fly through. I see my work as a communication with their story and spirit.
At its root, my work stands in contrast to dominant, religious and capitalist ideologies that place (some) human beings at the apex of ‘creation’ while animals are treated as objects to be dominated. Instead, I align myself with artistic and storytelling traditions that assign symbolic meaning and significance to certain animals (while recognizing that meanings and significance differ from culture to culture, religion to religion, and over time as well). In these traditions animals are often imbued with the power to guide, heal and improve our lives.
I am also influenced by fairy tales and folkloric traditions. Historically, these traditions have privileged ‘magic’ over realism — perhaps pointing to the human need to imaginatively project into and beyond the actual physical reality and predictability of our lives.
How did you develop in your work?
It wasn’t until I had a child, and found myself in a position of stillness that I finally decided to attempt to develop skill at painting. When my child was around 3 I often told him a story in bed at night that he insisted I make up. He then asked me to illustrate it. So i did. A small publishing house, 40 degrees south published the book. This was the first time I pushed myself to finish a painting. It was also the first time I dabbled with watercolours. I discovered a deep love for painting. The same peace I felt as a child riding off alone on my horse, I felt sitting at my desk painting. It is a meditation of sorts, where one can switch off from the mundane tasks of everyday life. It is an opportunity to find the magical, the beauty in emotion and a chance to delve into one's subconscious. I guess I utilise a Jungian approach to art. I never know what a painting will depict when i start out. Often I will start with an idea — I might have a horse image in mind I want to paint, and from there the painting begins.. I am always curious what I will end up painting and how I will relate to it. I find my early love of storytelling comes through in my art and my paintings often have an illustrative quality. Each painting tells a story of sorts. Sometimes I will look up the symbology of the animals I paint, and think about what it means to me, but I like the painting to not be confined to that meaning. I am always interested to hear how an image can evoke different feelings/ideas for different people.
What makes the horse such an inspirational subject to you?
Not every painting depicts horses, but I can safely assume that I will continue to be inspired by horses and continue to attempt to portray their perfection for many years to come. There is so much about this noble animal to be in awe of and inspired by. The horse has long being depicted in art, right back to early cave paintings. Horses have been such an integral part of our development as humans, and they have been painted by many Masters over time- so many paintings are of battle scenes. I guess as our dependance on the horse has declined, so has the horse in art.
Which artists have inspired you in your work?
As a teenager I loved Edvard Munch, and his was the first paintings I sought out at the gallery in Berlin with my father in tow. I always loved John William Waterhouse, introduced to his art by my sister with her print of ‘The lady of Shalott’. I love the Baroque period, and all the great painters that we are lucky enough to have in our collective history.
I also love artists like John Bauer, John Howe, Charlie Mackesy. Vali Myers is a great inspiration who I was fortunate enough to meet in her studio in Melbourne many years ago. I admire her attitude and female spirit and greatly regret not seeking her out more when she was alive.
Thank you so much Emma for letting us into your wonderful world!
You can see more of Emma’s art by clicking this link to her Instagram.
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