Emily Ebbs

This body of work forms part of Ebbs’ first collection with the gallery, which explores an entangled space between abstraction, provisional painting, and landscape. The works draw on chance encounters, personal memory, and the sensory experience of a shifting environment, particularly the olfactory qualities of the changing landscape.

Beeswax is incorporated as a resist material, forming a surface through which the stain is partially obstructed from penetrating the canvas. This introduces a subtle tension within the works, creating an uneven and unpredictable distribution of mark and material. Ebbs applies large blocks of beeswax directly onto the canvas, working intuitively and without full knowledge of how these gestures will register until the staining process occurs.

The material’s subtle scent is also significant, contributing to the sensory environment of the studio and reinforcing a sense of grounding and presence within the act of making. The final image emerges through this interplay of control and chance, revealing a layered negotiation between surface, material, and process.