PHILIP EMDE

At once humourous, provocative, and reflective, his work negotiates a balance between playfulness and critical observation, creating immersive visual environments where imagery, text, and sculptural elements interact. The exhibition space welcomes critical thinking, and with it critique.

Philip Emde considers the prejudice that artwork faces, the value judgements we make when analysing and experiencing. His disregard to please the viewer – not relying on the act of impressing or convincing others of its worth, Emde instead makes us ask, ‘Why does this work attract me? Why does it repel me?’ . What if we didn’t try to prove ourselves at the expense of a childlike, unfiltered view of the other? The idea of the Other is not only being toyed with but reused in Emde’s work. Who is the spectator? I am looking at a monkey but the money is looking at the work, or at something I don’t know if I can access without it.

Emde animals are all vintage Steiff collectables. Steiff is a renowned German-based company founded in 1880. Pre-loved Steiffs carry with them not only fabric and stitching, but also stories and lives lived by someone else. Not only representing the trust and comfort associated with children’s soft toys, but also acts as conduits through which children project and enter into their imaginary worlds. From our gaze on the animals, to their gaze into childhood, redirected to own gaze – the monkeys become a perceptual tool interceding between prejudice and perception.