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InspirationPhotography

Father John Misty's 'Honeybear' photographer wife presents a decade's worth of autobiographical work

Emma Elizabeth Tillman is an American artist who seems to have lived an enviable life; falling in love, travelling the world, living the sort of creative existence most of us can only dream about.

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Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist and gallery.

Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist and gallery.

But as with most fairy stories, there’s a darker side at play, too, as revealed on closer inspection of her collages of photographs, diary fragments and text.

The writer Anaïs Nin wrote that "We write to taste life twice, in the moment, and in retrospection," and it seems Tillman’s art is created according to a similar doctrine. Her debut solo show, entitled Disco Ball Soul is a testament to this, formed of more than 90 small collage works created over a decade from photographs and journal entries, as well as 14 large-scale photographs.

The pieces form a sort of emotional documentation of her life from 2007 until now, and begin in the Arizona desert, where the artist’s then-boyfriend was living in a "crumbling adobe house," before then couple moved on to rural France to a similarly rudimentary spot, with no running water or electricity. Again, in our age that idolises the idea of simpler existences – where people pay to "digitally detox" – it seems like a dream.

As her works hint, the reality was often less dream and more nightmarish; though with some brilliant “tell the grandkids” type anecdotes: Tillman recalls pilfering beetroot and potatoes from fields, and scavenging for firewood on the beach. Other works were created on a road trip the pair took to Spain, and during the artist’s solo travels to Iceland.

According to Gallery 46, which is hosting the show, the diaries and photographs that Tillman since built her art with were used to "mark the passing of time and make sense of her thoughts. By living each day twice, first through its experience and then by photographing and writing it down, Tillman sought to create her own world – one that varied from the one outside her mind."

The glittering title of the show is a reference to the artist’s use of her work as a sort of mask; the images she makes can tell any story she likes that may or not be true to her experiences.

In 2011 Tillman met her now-husband – folk-peddling beard-wearer Josh (aka Father John Misty). Their time together is documented just as fiercely as before; with the artist showing their LA life, mushroom trips in the Joshua Tree desert and holidays to Norway and Mexico. At this point, we begin to wonder if she’s just showing off.

Disco Ball Soul runs from 11 - 30 August 2017 at Gallery 46, 46 Ashfield Street, London E1 2AJ.

Man wearing sunglasses lying on a bed while watching a projection of a silhouetted figure on the wall above
Two black and white photographs stacked vertically showing a woman with her hands near her face in contemplative poses, with handwritten text beneath
A man in orange shorts and white trainers stands barefoot on a wooden platform in shallow water, framed by a handwritten bordered collage with cursive text overlay
Collage showing a boiled egg in an egg cup alongside sliced bread and beetroot on a plate, paired with a photograph of a rural graveyard with crosses in a green field, with handwritten text above and below
Two Polaroid-style photographs mounted in a cream frame with handwritten text, showing a bearded man in a white shirt and a portrait of a man in profile, dated July 2012
Black and white photograph of a woman with long hair holding a camera to her face, mounted on a yellow page with handwritten text around the borders
Man and woman embracing against a dark ivy-covered wall in a moody outdoor setting
Cosy bedroom nook with dark walls lined with CDs, an orange pillow, white bedding, warm sunlight streaming through a window, and a book on the bed
Overgrown garden pathway with dense green foliage, weathered stone wall and pale blue gate, surrounded by wild vegetation and tall trees
A hazy cityscape viewed from a forested hillside at dusk, with tall buildings visible through the smog in the distance under a pale sky
Silhouette of a woman standing against sheer curtains with her arm raised to her head, backlit by a bright window overlooking a cityscape
Stacked vintage TV and VCR with a red fabric sculpture of a bear on top, surrounded by books and plants in a domestic setting
A moss-covered tree trunk rises from graves marked with "Famille Fourteau" in an autumn cemetery, surrounded by fallen leaves and ivy-covered walls
Woman holding a camera to her face in a bedroom mirror, wearing a white graphic T-shirt, with shelving and potted plant visible behind her
A figure's shadow is cast on a white wall behind a wooden chair and ornate bench with cushions in warm golden light
Silhouetted figure sitting by a window with green shutters and pink walls, viewing photographs and diary entries spread on a table below
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