Contact
Studio: info@lenaemery.com
Commercial, Artwork Sales, Syndication: mail@surolab.com
IG: lena_c_emery
Lena C. Emery explores the fragile relationship between humans and the natural environment, deeply shaped by her nomadic upbringing across Europe and Asia. At 18, she relocated to a remote island in Southeast Sulawesi, where her father co-established a reef conservation program and dive resort, creating one of the world’s largest privately funded marine reserves. Following a decade of successful conservation, the Wakatobi National Park was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve – home to the largest concentration of reef and fish species on Earth. “Without phone reception or internet at the time, and only a boat that came every two weeks to drop off and pick up divers, the island instilled a visceral awareness in you, an understanding of the interconnectedness of life and the delicate balance required to preserve it.”
In 2020, Emery was named a Decade of Change Award Winner by the British Journal of Photography, a global initiative to galvanise environmental awareness. Emery lives and works in London.
“Whether examining the fragile bond between humans and nature or challenging how we have been conditioned to see, Lena’s art is a process of revealing – peeling back layers, dissolving boundaries, and asking if we are truly paying attention.” – Tang Siyu
“When I first picked up Rie, I immediately knew this wasn’t an ordinary book of nudes. This openness creates pictures much like a breath of fresh air.”– Todd Hido
“Emery’s images (Yuka & The Forest) show a place that is some distance from the entrenched view of humans as subject and the world as an object, and offer a renewed perception of symbiosis.”– Kris Kozlowski Moore
Collections
The Cleveland Museum of Art (Permanent Collection), Ohio, US
Solo Exhibitions
2024 The Mountains Between Us, Frieze No. 9 Cork Street Gallery (London)
2015 Rie, Claire de Rouen (London)
Group Exhibitions
2022 The Identity Exhibition, Sheriff Gallery (Paris)
2022 Moria, Sheriff Gallery (Paris)
2021 Decade of Change, The Nest Summit (New York)
2021 Asama International Photo Festival (Miyota)
2021 Decade of Change, Museum of Climate Change (HK)
2017 UnuoUnu, Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art (London)
Publications
Atmos, British Vogue, Dazed, M Le Monde, Pleasure Garden, Pop, Purple, System, The Gentlewoman, The Plant, Wallpaper, Wall Street Journal Magazine
Awards & Nominations
Decade of Change Award by British Journal of Photography (Winner, 2020), Prix du Livre d’Auteur Arles (Nominated, 2018), FOAM Paul Huf Award (Nominated, 2015), Flash Forward Award (UK Winner, 2016)
Clients
Calvin Klein, Chanel, Chloe, Dior, Burberry, Helmut Lang, Hermes, Lemaire, Stella McCartney, Tiffany & Co
Books
2025 Prospettive Ancora Londra (Contrasto Books)
2024 The Overview (Atmos)
2024 Pictures for Elmhurst
2024 Memorabile Ipermoda (Marsilio Arte)
2019 Still Life (Gestalten)
2019 Posturing: Photographing the Body In Fashion (SPBH Editions)
2015 Rie – Monograph (Kominek Books)
2018 Yuka & The Forest – Monograph (Art Paper Editions)