Emily Spooner is a painter, sculptor, puppet and costume crafter, jewelry maker, and filmmaker. Her work is distinguished by its elusive theatrics and mystical atmosphere. Though Emily’s practice is diverse, painting is the ground she stands on. In her hands, paint becomes light, fading memories, layered traces, the etheric and ephemeral — as archetypal as it is actual. In her world, conventions of narrative, specificity, and logic give way to mystery and open-endedness.
What has persistently struck me about Emily’s work is its quality of haunted soulfulness — it exists in a shadowy but measured place of broken image and story, where a kind of authentic and reverent reflection of the unconscious shines.
Emily’s work is also playful. Her work is full of movement, colour, personalities, and wonder. There is an enchantment to the theatrical characters and scenes that she portrays. The world is alive in Emily’s work. She offers us a staging of what seems like an old forgotten fantasy fiction, then fragments it into a beautiful heap of fractured images. Much of the thrill of this work is trying to put the fragments together while knowing that there is no whole.
-Written by Jeff Mann, Emily’s partner and artistic collaborator
***
Which neighbourhood are you in?
I currently live in Little Italy with my partner, and we share a studio just a 15-minute walk away in Outremont.
What do you do?
I’m primarily a painter, and have always seemed to come back to painting, no matter what other mediums I explore. It’s been fun to see how my relationship to painting has developed over the years and how I feel even more connected to it as time goes on.
Alongside my painting practice, I also do some small-scale metalworking and sewing. I love adornment and costume, and would eventually like to commit more time to this side of my practice.
At the moment, I feel a strong interest in expanding my artistic practice into something more scenographic. I’ve recently been inspired by traditions of scenic painting — both in theatre and in dance — for the way space is handled and how atmosphere is created to facilitate the telling of a story. I’m working on two projects right now that involve the creation of a “set” with painted backdrops. I’m anticipating making some costumes for these projects and working with a dancer to stage a small performance.
I also have a collaborative practice with my partner, Jeff Mann, where we create video work inspired by puppetry, dance, and theatre.
What are you currently working on?
I have a few projects on the go at the moment. I recently returned from a residency at Centre Sagamie, where I was working on the first stages of a project that will be shown in a group exhibition at Vaste et Vague in May 2026, curated by Noémie Fortin. This is within the context of the Présences project, which aims to bring more emerging artists into the artist-run centre network of Quebec.
While at Centre Sagamie, I was printing hand-drawn plant motifs onto fabric to be used in the creation of a costume as part of this project.
I’m also in the midst of developing a body of work for a solo exhibition next year. While the exhibition will primarily be focused on my paintings, I’ll be working to turn the space into a theatrical “set” of sorts and potentially bring in a dancer to stage a performance.
I’ve also recently begun a new puppetry film project with my artistic collaborator, Jeff Mann. Right now, we’re in the early stages of developing some hand puppets, costumes, and backdrops for the first segment of the film.
Where can we find your work?
I try to share what I’m up to pretty regularly on Instagram, and I also have a website, which is in need of an update.
