Creating to Cope: Work by Emily Martin in the UIHC Collection

Creating to Cope: Work by Emily Martin in the UIHC Collection
July 11, 2023 - October 15, 2023
The Rear Apartments
Mixed media, 1986
UIHC Collection #2292

Both the "High Rise" series and the "Walking Amok" series are early artworks in Emily Martin's career. The storytelling is inspired by theater, social observations, current events, and at times a culmination of these influences.

"Walking Amok" speaks to the steady bombardment of anxieties in life; the confrontation of arduous themes creating a platform to cope with stress. Martin uses subtle humor as an investigative shield. In this series, each work has four secondary images in the corners which she uses to influence the central image, recognizing both anxieties directly within one's orbit as well as the contribution of external outlets.

The "High Rise" series accepts that everyone is collectively experiencing their own vignette of anxieties. Martin is acknowledging the complexities and calamities in life, and the continual will to cope.