Emily Jayne May Myatt (they/them) is a non-binary contemporary visual artist currently based in Kelowna, BC on unceded Syilx territory. Their current body of work combines issues surrounding gender, art history and the painted image with an interest in the social construction of gender and how it has evolved over time.
Their research involves subverting European colonial narratives to expose the harmful effects that binary systems force upon us. They do this by embracing a full spectrum of visual sources; from neoclassical sculpture, to queer art history, their own staged photographs, three-dimensional maquettes, and digital archives. The space between this research and more painterly concerns in the studio provide fertile ground to construct imagery that mimics the complexity of identity.
They hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus; majoring in visual arts and minoring in art history and visual culture. Recent solo exhibitions include Under the Red Tent at the Kelowna Community Theatre (2024), Cowfolk at the Art Council of the Central Okanagan Community Gallery (2022) and Awkward at the Rotary Centre for the Arts Galleria (2020). Recent group exhibitions include Emergence at the Vernon Public Art Gallery (2023), Forty Feet Forward at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus (2023), and Recent Work at Kettle River Brewery (2020).