The Skinny
Stories Told On Silk: Emma Talbot on her DCA exhibition
Emma Talbot's upcoming exhibition at DCA sees her create exploded narratives around grief of 'failing systems' in the current 'point of crash', all within a deftly made, immersive installation of paintings, sculpture and film
Feature
by Adam Benmakhlouf
| 25 Jan 2021
Emma Talbot begins describing her latest exhibition in Dundee Contemporary Arts with the story of how she came into contact with
The Riders of the Sidhe, John Duncan’s Celtic Revival painting at the McManus Museum. “Almost in a cursory way, the Head of Exhibitions showing me around, said, 'You won’t be that interested in that.' And I thought, 'Oh God, I really am.' It’s this really elaborate image, and it incorporates these archaeological finds that are actually in museums in Scotland. They’re put into this narrative painting as if the painter is imagining them being used in real life by these ancient mythological figures, like fairies and knights.” It’s fitting for Talbot to start with an anecdote, as storytelling is something she plays with and pulls apart across her evocative, deftly made installations of paintings, drawings, sound, animations and sculpture.