Emma Cousins: Leg Up

In Leg Up London based artist Emma Cousin (b1986) investigates the body as the site of experience – examining what we can and cannot control in all aspects of daily life and questioning the meanings of mobility, both physical and social. Using the body as a metaphor and emphasising the role that the body plays in processing and defining our experiences, Cousin’s paintings present a pantheon of women performing everyday gestures to address notions of time, ageing, strength, inertia and vulnerability.

Cousin’s darkly comic and irreverent parade of female characters are pulled and twisted into impossible bodily contortions, balancing the weight of gravity with a lightness extending from their mix-and-match body parts. Exploring concepts of freedom and identity, they inhabit precarious situations and engage in awkward activities.