Emma Joly

Emma Joly (1997, France) first studied graphic design in Nevers (ESAA Bourgogne) and Fine-arts in Lyon (ENSBA Lyon) until 2020. At the end of 2020, she moved to Ostend and started her involvement with the artist-run space Pleasure Island, allowing her to further develop a vision with deeper attention to materials and crafts.

Along the way, she became more focused on textile and started to learn hand weaving. Later on, she started to learn about natural dyes as her first aim was to dye her own yarns for weaving. Throughout this learning process, she gathers a deeper consideration for and understanding of nature. Going along with her interest for textile, letter drawing is the graphic design aspect that persisted in her practice.

During The Mothership residency, she aims to develop and bring this drawing practice to a crossroad with textile by soaking herself in The Mothership’s dyeing plants garden as a source of knowledge and inspiration. This means searching for ways to give texture, tactile sensibility to letters by developing ways to provide those letters with a medium to exist in a visual and tactile language that is her own.