• Biography

• Mixed-Media

• Paintings and Drawings

• Scientific Illustration

• Installation and Performance

About

Hullo everyone, my name is Emily Podd and I am studying Chemistry and Fine Arts at the College of New Jersey. My time here has shown me that at the end of the day, artists and scientists really share the same objective- we’re all working to better understand the world that we live in. My art practice focuses on creating mixed media works that utilize my understanding of my materials to celebrate and compliment the nature of my subjects.

The Commercialization of Beauty

Video Installation - 13 minutes and 55 seconds
2023

For this work, I wanted to unpack the influence of commercialized beauty standards in the United States. I chose six famous actresses and models from the last 120 years who were each deemed “beauty icons” at some point in their careers. The initial image shows the likeness of these women and invites the viewers to stand in front of the projection and compare their shapes. For this part of the project, the bodies of the viewers become the physical component of this work as they are compared to the silhouettes of the bodies on the screen. The video proceeds to share insight into the lives of each of these women, discussing how they became famous and/ or their experiences as a result of their “beauty icon” statues. After this, it invites the viewer to reflect on the source of our desire to compare ourselves, who it benefits that we compare ourselves, and consider the people who are excluded by these commercialized definitions of beauty. The video ends with the return of the original image from the beginning of the video, but the names of the six women are replaced by their birth names instead of their stage names (if they had one).

Inland Sea

Video Installation - 15 minutes and 12 seconds
2023

This piece creates an immersive underwater space by using lights, sounds, and imagery from some of my favorite SCUBA trips. The work consists of three projected videos that play on a loop on the walls while ocean wave lighting is projected on the floor. The videos vary in length so they fade in and out of darkness at different times until they collectively fade to black at the fifteen minute and twelve seconds mark. This, combined with the wave lighting, creates a constant sense of movement in the room, mimicking the constant floating movement of being in the water. Through this installation, I allow my audience to share in experiencing some of my favorite moments in life.

The Plastic Pipeline

Sculpture and Video Installation
2023

This installation was created in collaboration with Mikaela Given and features found plastic materials and a cyanotype featuring the images of a week’s worth of plastic waste from my household. The projection alternates between two storylines: continuous plastic production and the consequent accumulation of plastic waste in landfills. The clips quickly shift from production to landfill to this, showing the unyielding creation and disposal of plastic products. When projected through the cyanotype, hung above its own “waste pile”, it confronts the viewer with their own contributions to the plastic pipeline and emphasizes how often we use plastic items in our day to day lives.

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