SCRIBBLYHEADS by Emma Ellis-Brown

On exhibition from 3 April 2025.

After studying sociology at the university of Cape Town it brought into focus how individuals operate and behave in the public sphere, following societal norms and expectations. In contrast, the private sphere offers a space where people can shed these facades, free from societal pressures. This distinction deeply influenced my creative process, inspiring the subjects i now explore in my works. I find myself constantly going out to capture those honest, unguarded moments where people shed their facades and false pretences- particularly within the public eye.  

 Over the past decade, I’ve had the opportunity to live and work in countries with vastly different cultures and economic environments. Through this experience I realized that no matter one’s socioeconomic status, People enjoy or share the same simple genuine moments which ultimately connects us through having a mutual understanding and common ground in relatability despite differences in lifestyle. I would spend hours walking the streets in foreign countries observing overlooked daily routines in search of common ground and connection through insignificant ‘mundane moments’ to find a sense of raw and unscripted realness shared among people without the noise and excess life can create through external facades and pretences of the materialistic world. My work celebrates the unadorned everyday moments, the moments that occur between life’s so-called highlights and distractions.  In a world inundated with excess, I find great meaning in the simple gestures which ultimately connect us despite our differences.

 I try to capture moments that evoke emotions or feelings, where people from different backgrounds find mutual understanding through a form of relatability in the absence of using words. These moments might be feelings of loneliness, crossing paths with strangers, sonder or the struggles we face in the modern world. I turn to art as a means to express emotions or portray a feeling I’ve felt from strangers that I’ve crossed paths with where I’ve found it a challenge to express through words. Through use of line I try to connect with others which evoke some form of emotion, Drawing allows me to connect with others through shared emotions and experiences.

Many of the subjects I draw have their backs to the viewer, leaving the emotion open to interpretation. This approach allows the viewer to fill in the gaps based on their own experiences and perspective, making the work personal and relatable.

About the artist:

Emma is a Cape Town based artist. whose practice emerges from a mixture of voyeurism, sociology and aesthetic self indulgence. Using pen and memory to steal moments from people deeply engaged in their day to day lives.

‘I find great joy in the private moments that people have in public places. When people forget that they are being watched, we see who they really are. Their pretense disappears’

Emma’s work gives us a feeling of seeing strangers in a public space and the sonderous realisation that the emotions on their faces reflect entire lifetimes of immeasurable complexity.