Ema Shin is a Japanese born Melbourne based artist who participated in the artist-in-residency program at the ANU School of Art and Design Textiles Workshop from 24 April to 10 June 2017. In her art practice she aims to create a composition that displays sensitivity for materials, historical techniques, and physical awareness. The images of female bodies and human anatomy in her recent works express personal emotions and propose that the human spirit is interwoven with our immediate environment. This concept was applied to the construction, a group of contemporary pojagi (Korean-style patch work), which references her ancestral heritage layered with recent investigations into femininity, sexuality and domesticity.

During the residency period I could experiment with natural dyeing techniques, using native and non-native plants with help of Adele Cameron. These results I collaged with printed and embroidered pieces of cotton and handmade papers using Japanese Chine-colle technique.Creating artwork in a fully equipped environment that included a dyehouse, weave room and print room allowed me to experiment freely and expand my contemporary art practice. Canberra’s diverse cultural facilities broadened my knowledge of indigenous flora as well as deepening my understanding of the intimate relationship that the first Australians had with the natural environment.

_{Image: Ema Shin, Maternal Garden, 2016, woodblock print, papier-mâché, Chine-colle, embroidery, cotton thread, hand cut rubber stamp, photography courtesy of the artist.}