Interview with MiR member Emma Khanafer

Emma will be showing her work on the 17th-21st of April at Mothers in Residence's residence studio at KKV, Gothenburg (The Artists' Collective Workshop)

More details on our instagram closer to the date.

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Name: Emma Amal Khanafer

Social media presence:

www.instagram.com/emmakhanafer/

Describe your art practise and your family dynamic: I interpret symbols freely and mix fact and fiction. It’s as if the object I’m creating were from an alternative reality, an alternative history. I imagine that the object I’ve built is a thousand years old, but also that it derives from a reality that is slightly out of phase and touches upon the visual world of fantasy. I recently became a mother to Bosse and am on maternity leave for another six months.

When did you feel ready to start working creatively again after motherhood:

I felt a strong need to pick up on my work quickly, which felt necessary but was hard at times.

Have you got any upcoming events or plans that you can share:

I am building a series of props and set designs for the feature film “Vernissage hos Gud” which will release 2022. And I am working on some project that will probably be photographic, unintended, since its not usually my practice.

Tell us a little bit more about how you developed your technique:

I have studied art some years ago but I had a pause and worked with commercial stuff for money. I found that it was not satisfying. I’ve been studying to be a prop maker the last two years.

You’re based in:

Gothenburg.

What is your story on becoming a mother, and has your approach and methods changed since you became a parent:

Even though I had never been as tired as I found myself after Bosse came, I also paradoxically had more energy for creativity and it felt like I found my place in the universe. Becoming a mother made me realise that I could see things through, and that my work has the right to exist.

The original pupa / Originalpuppan

How much time a week do you spend on working/thinking/planning:

All of the time, consciously or unconsciously.

Do you have daily routines or rituals that help you get into work mode:

I try to write a minimum of three pages of nonsense in my little notebook before starting anything.

How do you relax / where / how do you source your power:

I put on 'Bamse' for Bosse and then play video games.

Where is your studio, where do you have private space to reflect and develop and execute ideas:

Currently in my living room, not an optimal solution for the rest of the family, but comfortable for me.

Wooden pupa / Träpuppan