DIORAMAS - Rosie Emerson

Glass Swans

Dioramas

“The relationship between what we see and what we know is never settled.” — John Berger

Emerson’s latest etchings begin as intricate maquette theatre sets, handcrafted in her studio from collected ephemera — sweetcorn husks, beads, shells, buttons, and natural fragments — combined with ornate furniture handles, chess pieces, and curtain rings. These miniature worlds are photographed and digitally merged with her own portraits of models, actors and circus performers. Through the photopolymer etching process, the real and imagined dissolve into one another. Each bespoke plate is individually inked, printed, and hand-painted with watercolour and bronze powder, ensuring every piece is unique. Emerson’s crafted theatres play with scale, nostalgia, and dreamlike echoes of other times and realms.

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