I contemplate a future both with and without water. A cruel reality outlined by the simultaneous rising of the seas and also by drought. Valleys of once fertile soil and running streams salted and left barren. As traces left by salt water interact with attempts to navigate the complexities of landscape and narrative, I am left with something that is half map half memory. In utilizing ceramic as a physical document of earth and time, I am not interested in creating objects that have enduring permanence. Instead, the potential in the erosion of ceramic allows me to document these ephemeral moments, passing time, and the tenuous relationship between land and sea.
Emily Brownawell is an emerging artist currently based in the Hudson Valley. Raised by oceanographers across the street from an intertidal region of Long Island Sound, the marine ecosystem played a powerful role throughout her childhood and continues to inform her practice today. Though her work oftentimes is non-objective, inspirations from marine and other natural systems are clear. While well-versed across different media, ceramic continues to be the primary focus of Emily’s practice. Her current work aims to translate familiar and functional forms into interpretative and sculptural pieces.