Emma Berkery’s arts practice is rooted in, and frequently references, the art historical movements of Colour-Field and Abstract Expressionism. The combined influence of these two movements results in a unique style of abstraction, which the artist uses as the vehicle to process, repackage and reflect back to the viewer her experience of the world. Resisting singular interpretation, the paintings act as conversations and explorations of the materiality of paint with powerfully evocative colour combinations. For the viewer, they both depict and create experiences. Berkey paints with a process lead methodology, incorporating a symbolic palette with fluid organic forms, collocated with conscious and subconscious structure and gesture. Her current work focuses on exploring the psychology of hope and its role in our will to live. Inspired by her father’s eternal optimism, the artist investigates the meaning and impact of hope in the context of the increasingly tumultuous global situation.