Searching For Emily
Searching For Emily
A sole filmmaker trails an artist singularly transfixed by a Canadian icon.
Manon Elder paints a beautiful young Emily Carr that noone has ever given you before.
Lured back to the source 100 years later by the photographs of T’anuu, Elder retraces Carr’s journey into the sacred wilderness of Haida Qwaii.
‘Searching For Emily’ is a feature length documentary focusing on the portrait artist Manon Elder as she completes a series of portrait paintings (27 in all) in an attempt to redefine the image of Canadian icon Emily Carr.
Emily Carr (1871-1945) was a Canadian author and artist, who lived and worked on the West Coast of Canada. Inspired by the ancient forests of British Columbia and the First Nations, particularly the Haida Nation, she wrote and painted about these subjects her entire life.
Sixty-five years after her death, there is a groundswell of interest in the life, work and writings of Emily Carr, but the image that most Canadians hold in their minds eye of Emily is that of an eccentric, frumpy old woman, with too many pets, including a monkey.
In collaboration with the Royal British Columbia Museum, in particular, curator Kathryn Bridge, portrait artist Manon Elder dug into the archives of the museum to find photographs of Emily throughout her life. Using these photographs as inspiration, Manon has created a body of work which will be exhibited at the museum, entitled ‘The Other Emily’.
The video documentary, ‘Searching For Emily’, directed by artist and videographer Kristina Campbell, follows the process of the creation of these paintings, the developing friendship of discovery between Manon and Kathryn, and finally the journey of the artist to the far reaches of the mystical islands of Haida Gwaii. Manon travelled deep into the inaccessible land of Gwaii Haanas, the traditional territory of the Haida Nation. Following Emily’s footsteps through the wilderness, a story of discovery, inspiration and understanding is driven home.
Searching for Emily is a beautiful portrait, a redefining portrait, of Emily Carr, through the eyes of Manon Elder. It is also an inspiring portrait of artist Manon Elder, through the eyes of director Kristina Campbell. It is an examination of the artistic process, from first inspiration to final execution.
