Emma O'Brien is a lens-based artist from Ireland, with a BA in Photographic Media from Griffith College. Her recent work explored the psychological, physical and political landscapes of motherhood, combining self-portraits, documentary, and constructed images to portray complex and honest dialogues around care.
In her new work, guided by ecologies of care and radical empathy, Emma is drawn to bio-spiritualist and panpsychist perspectives, exploring the intersection of spirituality, consciousness, and the physical world. She uses photography, digital interventions and alternative processes to create dreamlike ethereal images. Engaging with landscape, humans and non humans, sacred sites, and mythology, the artist turns to ancient systems of care to explore new pathways through uncertain futures.
Emma's work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, with recognition through platforms such as FUTURES for European Contemporary Photography in 2022 and FreshEyes in 2021. Her photobook The Holding Place (2023), supported by the Arts Council of Ireland, was published by PhotoIreland. She has been awarded The Artist Bursary Award (2022), The Agility Award (2024/ 2021), and The Professional Development Award (2020) by the Arts Council of Ireland. She is 2025 recipient of the Brinsley Macnamara Award by Westmeath Arts Office.
EMAIL: eobphoto@gmail.com
Work
2025 To Kindle A Light (WIP)
2024 Inside Out in Collaboration with Lucy Tormey
2023 How to Construct a Mother (WIP)
2021 The Holding Place
2019 Immersion
2010 Home again
2010 The Bedrooms
Exhibitions
2025 Post Natal, Lewisham Art House, London
2024 Westmeath Artist Award Exhibition, The Luan Gallery, Athlone
2023/24 Inside Out, Creative Ireland, Westmeath, Public outdoor exhibition
2023 FotoWein, Vienna - Group Exhibition with Reflektor
2022 Westemath Artist Award Exhibition, The Luan Gallery, Athlone
2022 HalfTone Print Fair, The Library Project, Dublin, Ireland
2022 Hold The Gates, PhotoIreland Festival, Dublin,Ireland
2022 Dispatch, WorkShow Grow, The New Forest Museum, UK
2021 HalfTone Print Fair, The Library Project, Dublin,Ireland
2021 FreshEyes Exhibition, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2021 FreshEyes, PhEST, See Beyond The Sea, International Festival of Photography, Monopoli, Italy.
2021 Waves of Exposure, Group Show at Format International Photography Festival, UK
2011 The Bedrooms, Grey Area, PhotoIreland Festival, Gallery 53, Dublin
2010 The Bedrooms, Communicar, AM Gallery, Brighton, UK
2010 Home again, PhotoIreland Festival, The Complex, Dublin
Art Book Fairs
2024 Encontros Da Imagem, International Photography and Visual Arts Festival,Braga, Portugal
2024 Daegu Photo Biennale, Book Fair, 2024, Daegu, South Korea
2024 Photobook NZ, August 2024, Photospace Gallery, Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand
2023 Dublin Art Book Fair, Polyphonic, Temple Bar Studios
2023 Critical Beans, Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris Photo
2023 Tsundoku Art Book Fair, Book Launch and Talk, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Dublin.
Achievements
2025 Recipient of the Brinsley McNamara Award, Westmeath Arts Office
2024 Recipient of The Agility Award by the Irish Arts Council
2022 Selected for Futures Photography by PhotoIreland
2022 Recipient of The Bursary Award by the Irish Arts Council
2021 Selected as a FreshEyes Talent, Emerging European Talents, GUP Magazine, Amsterdam
2021 Recipient of The Agility Award by the Irish Arts Council
2021 Presented Work at Bright Room Sessions, PhotoIreland
2021 Accepted to Participate in Professional Development Programme at PhotoIreland
2020 Awarded Professional Development Funding Grant by Irish Arts Council
2020 Work selected for MassiolationIRL Archive
2020 Work Selected for MassisolationFORMAT
2010 Selected for Open Call PhotoIreland Festival
2009 Shortlisted for Photographer of the Year, media Awards
2009 Shortlisted for News Photographer of the Year, Smedia Awards
Publications
2023 The Holding Place, PhotoIreland Publication
2022 Over Journal
2022 MassIsolation Book, Gallery of Photography, Dublin
2022 In the sun, on the moon, PHMuseum, Italy
2021 FK Magazine, Latvia
2021 DerGrief Magazine,
2021 FreshEyes Book, GUP, Amsterdam
2021 The Holding Place, TLP Edition, PhotoIreland Publication
2011 The Bedrooms feature in “Context and Narrative in Photography” Maria Short, 2011, AVA Books