2023 Verant Richards Award recipient, Emma Martin, investigates the rift between nature and technology in the wake of accelerated modernization and development. Through alternative processes and materials, Martin explores the impact of technology on the natural world as global warming becomes increasingly apparent. Artificial Future draws attention to the paradoxical reality wherein society continuously turns to technology in the face of environmental degradation, presenting alternative methods for sustainable living amid ongoing climate crises.
The Verant Richards Award is awarded annually to an OCADU graduating student for excellence in experimental photography. Verant Richards was a graduate of OCADU and a founding member of Gallery 44, known for his innovative artistic practice that pushed beyond the confines of a self-limiting definition of photography.
This exhibition will be featured in imagineNATIVE's Art Crawl on June 5, 5:00 - 10:00PM. Free to join, registration required, to view the crawl schedule and register click here.
Presented in partnership with imagineNATIVE.
Emma Martin is an Anishinaabe kwe from Kettle and Stoney Point First Nation and a recent photography graduate from OCAD University. Martin's practice focuses on social and environmental injustices within contemporary society by engaging in a decolonial process through intersectional environmentalism. As an Ojibwe person, she believes in governing oneself through the path of the Grandfather teachings, wherein our role is to continue to make a difference until difference does not matter anymore. Martin has exhibited locally and internationally in The Bahamas, Berlin, Bratislava, China, London and Toronto—and featured in online articles published by The Canadian Centre for Architecture and The Mining Injustice Solidarity Network.
