Bern Emmerichs at The Mint

The Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection hosted a ‘pop-up’ exhibition featuring a selection of works by Melbourne-based artist Bern Emmerichs.

Emmerichs produces exceptionally detailed, meticulously painted and finished ceramics. Her work focuses on the narratives and cast of Australia’s colonial history: the arrival of the First Fleet, Aboriginal owners, convicts, colonial governors and emancipists. Through her ceramics, Emmerichs ‘sweetens the often gruesome details of Australia’s history into rambling graphic narratives. Gentle & humorous, the work is sometimes satirical, sometimes sad, but always inherently optimistic’ (Maree Coote, ‘The art of being Melbourne’, 2012).

Emmerichs has exhibited nationally and internationally and is represented in collections across Australia. Her work is included in the National Portrait Gallery’s winter exhibition, So Fine: Contemporary women artists make Australian history, on display until 1 October 2018.

Emmerichs has also illustrated four award-winning Australian history books for children, including The startling story of Lachlan Macquarie: founding father or failure? by Michael Sedunary (2017).

The pop-up exhibition is held in collaboration with Maunsell Wickes Gallery, which represents Bern Emmerichs in Sydney.