Emma Hack - Colour Lust

Emma Hack is our SALA artist for 2017, her new Geometric works titled 'Colour Lust' will be hanging in store from July 20 - August 30, a must see...

Emma Hack is an Adelaide-based, Australian artist working in the unique medium of body paint installation and photography. Exhibiting extensively throughout Australia since 1999, Emma’s astounding artworks have since captured the attention of collectors and art lovers worldwide.

Emma has received great acclaim for her refined body paint camouflage technique; through a combination of painting on canvas, body painting and studio-based photography, her work evokes a rich array of visual narrative and magical realism.

Best known for her Wallpaper series (2005-2010) - in which she painstakingly camouflaged the human form by hand painting her models into the remarkable designs of the late Florence Broadhurst. 2013 saw the release of ‘Florence’s Archive’, a collection created by Broadhurst of never-seen designs since her passing in the late 70’s.  Emma was able to choose colour-ways and oversee production of these exclusive wallpapers. The result is a collection of beautifully float-mounted, low edition, highly collectable works.

Emma’s diverse artwork collections draw inspiration from the unique Australian flora and fauna, as well as Oriental influences. Her highly sought after ‘Native Mandala, ‘Birds of a Feather’, ‘Utopia’ and ‘Birds of Prey’ collections feature native animals and live birds resting on the models arm or hands, connecting her muse to the environment and enhancing the illusion of her body art. Emma’s travels abroad inspire her collections, drawing from the symbolism of other cultures and the decorative arts, Emma interprets treasures around the world in her form of illusion, ‘Blue & White’ and ‘Treasured Tiles’ explore these motifs.

Emma’s collaboration with Grammy award winning musician Gotye resulted in the iconic, award winning music video for Somebody That I Used to Know, which has been viewed by over 550 million people worldwide, raising her profile in the US, UK and Europe. Emma has since worked on major artistic commissions for Motor Accident Commission, South Australia, where she built a sculpture of 17 bodies, painted as a crashed car, again drawing worldwide attention to her craft. Emma’s commission for WA Ballet utilised the form of 21 Ballet dancers to create their 2014 program imagery. Emma’s commission and curated space for celebrity chef, Nic Watt has everybody gazing at a larger than life Madame Hanoi at Adelaide’s most talked about restaurant mural.

Emma launched her philanthropic ‘Emma Hack Art Prize’ in 2014, a yearly competition as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival. It features South Australia’s most talented artists, vying for the $5000 prize.  It is currently the only prize established for South Australian artists.

Emma Hack has held successful solo shows throughout Australia and abroad at Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery, NYC and London, Bluerider Art in Taipei as well as hugely successful art fairs in Singapore, Brussels, Aspen, The Hamptons, Hong Kong and Milan. Emma opened her flagship Studio and Gallery, Emma Hack Gallery opened her flagship gallery in North Adelaide in her hometown of Adelaide from 2014 - 2016.  Her work is held in numerous private and corporate collections globally.