About

EMMA BASS IS AN ESTABLISHED ARTIST WITH A colourful and DISTINCTIVE TAKE ON FLORA, PHOTOGRAPHY – and life

Emma was born in Liberia, West Africa in 1967 and lived in England before arriving in New Zealand aged six, where she still resides in the beautiful twin-harbour city of Auckland.

A former nurse, Emma went to live in London in the early 1990s where she fell in love with photography at the Camera Club in Leicester Square.  Here she learnt darkroom techniques and took part in her first group exhibition.

On her return to New Zealand, she became one of that country’s most adaptable commercial photographers, working freelance for over 20 years and winning awards. Emma’s diverse portfolio is testament to her compassionate, yet thorough, approach.

In 1992, Emma began exhibiting her art photography and has established a strong following. In 2016, she was the only New Zealand artist to be invited to appear at the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition in London, and she was shortlisted as a finalist again in 2019.   

Her two best known collections - Imperfect (2016) and Embellish (2017) – are floral portraits that explore the nature of beauty. Lusciously seductive, the striking compositions also deliver a sharp bite of reality. In a world obsessed with perfection, these portraits of flora ‘on the turn’ or augmented with paint and objects find beauty in decline and demise, and question the authenticity of enhancements.  

Emma explains, "I want to challenge our concept of beauty. For me, Imperfect frames reality; the flaws themselves are beautiful. In Embellish, I draw on the style of the Dutch Masters – and question the value of illusion.”  Emma is continually diversifying her vision and is exploring new bodies of work such as Interrupted Eden and A Little Garden.  

In this video presentation to the Image Nation Photographic Conference in Auckland 2014, Emma talks about her early life and influences and how her career has developed:

Emma's previous colourful commercial work can be viewed HERE