Mauve Ornament by Emily Galicek

Size (cm): 92 x 112
Acrylic on canvas

My paintings begin as digital collages pieced together from fragments of images of historical domestic interiors. These are translated onto canvas by hand, underpinned by the knowledge that translation is an inherently imprecise methodology where things are lost or gained. This imperfect act of translation from screen to painting becomes a metaphor for the mutability of history and memory, and creates space for dialogue between past and present.

Mauve Ornament is a painting made in response to a residency I undertook at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris in 2024, where I immersed myself in the city’s libraries to research historical European domestic interiors and their trend cycles. This painting combines geometric tiled forms with more organic and effusive arabesque ornamentation from different periods. It explores the tension and conversation between visual languages across time.