Emily Roderick is a visual artist based in Berlin. Her practice straddles the serious and the silly. Often her work is a combination of both, using ‘the silly’ as a more accessible point of entry to ‘the serious’.
“It’s making the invisible, visible.” There is a process of unearthing that comes with Emily’s practice. Whether she’s pointing out hidden surveillance systems, opening the doors to the bell ringing room or live-streaming microscopic textures, she uses her art as a tool to point something out and support knowledge exchange. Often she’s literally pointing at something and saying “Look! I want to share this with you. What do you think about this?”, with even more encouragement for discussion. Collaboration is necessary to her practice. She’s fascinated by cross generational knowledge exchange and the potential richness that comes from developing those relationships. Even projects that may begin with just her own research and exploration, very often this quickly morphs into actions, events and performances that collaborate with other artists or seek involvement from the public.
There are currently three strands to Emily’s practice in three objects:
- Swimming noodles – researching silliness and play with our foam friends on land through workshops, costume and film
- Church bells – project centred around the history bellringing and her roots in this UK tradition currently through films and 2D works
- Face paint – exploring surveillance, collective trust and publicness currently through walks, writing, workshops and films
Emily will undertake a Self-Directed Residency at The Tin Church in October 2026. At The Tin Church, she will spend time researching and developing new ideas, as well as connecting and sharing her practice with local creatives.
