Statement:
My resolution for 2025 is to create more low-tech, in-person experiences. While I appreciate multimedia performances that incorporate elements like projections and interactive media, I believe we need more opportunities to disconnect from technology than ever before. As an artist, I aim to cultivate simple moments of unexpected humor and absurdity within the performance space. I draw inspiration from the inclusive art philosophy of Fluxus and the spontaneous, improvisational spirit of Happenings.
I prioritize DIY visuals, utilizing puppets, props, and costumes. I integrate narrative through both words and sound. A central aspect of my work is my commitment to breaking the fourth wall by directly addressing my audience and, in most cases, inviting them to participate actively. Rather than singling out participants, I create opportunities for the audience to engage on their own terms. My background in clowning informs this approach, and I often take on the role of the fool in the room.
The characters I portray in my performances are intentionally unconventional, designed to disrupt expectations and challenge societal norms. Through physical comedy, absurdity, and the manipulation of objects, I explore recurring themes such as an obsession with large blobs, monstrous forms, the grotesque body, social awkwardness, and anti-beauty. These themes stem from personal experiences of loss, body discomfort, self-doubt, and alienation. Audience participation and humor help transform otherwise isolating experiences into universal ones.
For example, my short silent horror film, Red Blob Massacre, concluded with a participatory dance party where the audience wore “ugly” teeth to challenge inaccessible beauty standards. My bouffon character, Buoj iz Jeb, revealed his fake-nakedness to the public, inviting them to reinterpret his gender through props and figure drawing sketches. In my tomato-smashing performance, Die Tomato, Die!, I provided the audience with plastic trash bags before showering them in tomato juice as an act of rebellion against failure. Most recently, my performance-in-progress, WORMS, questions the intention behind my creative instincts by filling an intimate performance space with an abundance of oversized stuffed “worms.”
Bio:
Emilia White has performed at numerous locations in North America and abroad, including the following: Sweet Action Theatre, OCAD, and the Tranzac Club in Toronto; Espace Transmission in Montréal; Planet Ant Theatre, Jam Handy, Sidewalk Festival, Light Box, MOCAD, CMAP, and the Contemporary Art Institute in Detroit; Dixon Place and the Dumbo Arts Festival in New York City; the Chicago Women's Funny Festival; the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.; and Lembaga Indonesia Perancis, Kinoki Film Forum, Gallery Salihara, Taman Budaya, and Galeri Nasional in Indonesia. Her visual art and video work were recently presented in a touring exhibition curated by Tracy Stonestreet and Sarah Irvin, Self Adjacent, showcased at the Visual Arts Center in Richmond, Virginia, Massey Klein Gallery in New York City, and the Kennedy Museum of Art in Athens, Ohio. From 2011 to 2015, Emilia co-curated The Performance Laboratory with Carrie Morris in Detroit, Michigan, facilitating the development of original performance work by over 50 local artists. Emilia has a BFA in Theatre & Original Works from Cornish College of the Arts, and an MFA in Studio Arts from the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design.
Emilia lives to Toronto, Ontario and is an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of the Integrative Arts program at York University’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD). The program’s focus on interdisciplinarity, social justice, and community engagement aligns with Emilia’s artistic vision. Her extensive experience engaging with artists and audiences worldwide informs her commitment to dismantling elitism in art and fostering genuine, shared experiences between audiences and performers.