Emily Allchurch: Multi Storied

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Karin Weber Gallery is excited to announce a solo exhibition by British photography artist Emily Allchurch, her third with the gallery. Drawing from over ten years of artistic engagement with East Asia, ‘Multi Storied’ presents a selection of works that chart Allchurch’s artistic journey from Japan to Hong Kong and mainland China and celebrate her return to Hong Kong with a brand-new work this year.

Selected works represent extensive travel and engagement with the region, executed as the artist’s signature photo collage creations and presented in light box and print formats. Following a loosely chronological narrative, ‘Multi Storied’ introduces Allchurch’s initial artistic dialogue with Asia through her 2011 ‘Tokyo Story’ series, a reimagination of Hiroshige’s iconic 100 Views of Edo. A research trip to Hong Kong in 2017 culminated in several works that capture different aspects of the city in pieces such as Solitary Temple Hong Kong (2019), and Memory Views I & II (2021), created from the artist’s image library during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Extensive travel and research in mainland China through 2019 conceived Emily Allchurch’s ‘Mirrored Cities’ series, which draws parallels between the ancient trading port of Venice, Italy, and historical and contemporary counterpart locations in China, such as Suzhou and Xi’an, in its exploration of themes such as globalisation, mass tourism and trade. ‘Multi Storied’ culminates with Allchurch’s most recent piece Towers of Babel: Hong Kong (2024), which reflects the city re-energising and finding new post pandemic directions. As with multiple levels in complex architecture, there are multiple stories of Emily Allchurch’s strong engagement with East Asia, especially with the city of Hong Kong and its multi-facetted manifestations.

ABOUT THE ARTIST / ORGANISER

Emily Allchurch (b. 1974) holds a MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art, London, and lives and works in Hastings, UK. Trained as a sculptor initially, she is now most renowned for her reimaginations of Old Master works from a contemporary perspective. Recent museum acquisitions include the Royal Academy, London, UK, and the Musee de Beaux-Arts de Nancy, France alongside the Tokaido Hiroshige Museum, Japan; Minneapolis Museum of Arts, USA; Manchester Art Gallery, UK; Nouveau Musee National de Monaco; States of Jersey, Channel Islands, UK and the Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Canada. Corporate collections include the Financial Conduct Authority, Unilever, Morgan Stanley, Schroders and Rathbones in London, UK, and Fidelity International in Tokyo, Japan, Jebsen & Co and Link Reit in Hong Kong.