What initially appears to be a single image reveals itself as hundreds, sometimes thousands, of tiny individual components. Capsules filled with glitter and resin sit alongside crystals and other unexpected materials, each painstakingly made and positioned by hand.

The process is deliberately labour intensive. Emma makes the capsules herself before preparing the composition and gradually building the artwork in layers. Some of her larger works contain around 2,000 individual pills, with multiple layers creating depth and an almost sculptural surface.

That repetition is an important part of Emma's visual language. Before establishing her own practice, she spent seven years working alongside Damien Hirst, an experience that helped shape her fascination with repeated objects, unusual materials and the visual possibilities of the humble pill capsule.

More Than Glitter

There is an interesting contradiction at the heart of Emma's work.

The colour, glitter and familiar imagery are deliberately seductive. Perfume bottles, sweets, slogans, pharmaceuticals and symbols of popular culture draw us in because we recognise them. Yet underneath the playful surface are recurring ideas around consumerism, aspiration, excess and desire.

Emma's own experiences have also helped shape that visual language. References to pills, bottles, indulgence and excess take on another layer of meaning within artworks that remain unapologetically colourful and optimistic.

Colour is central to the experience. Glitter, resin and reflective surfaces catch the light, while the sheer number of individual components encourages you to move closer and explore how the image has been constructed.

The result is work that can be enjoyed on several levels — bold and joyful from across the room, remarkably intricate up close, and often carrying a more thoughtful story beneath all that sparkle.