The Other Emily: Redefining Emily Carr, the newest exhibit at the Royal BC Museum, features Carr from her teenage years until 1927, just before she gained popularity.
The exhibit focuses on this less-publicized period of her life to reveal the mostly unknown aspects of Carr.
“She’s one of the few Canadian artists that still really connects on an emotional level to people today,” says exhibit curator Kathryn Bridge.
The exhibit is an unusual collaboration between Bridge and Canadian artist Manon Elder, whose goal was to paint Carr as a young, beautiful woman, which isn’t the usual image of Carr that comes to mind when her name is mentioned.
The prominent image of Carr as a recluse pushing a monkey around in a baby carriage continues, despite a lack of photographic evidence or documentation. Bridge compares this phenomenon to another Canadian icon—Anne of Green Gables.
“Anne of Green Gables is a nice, sweet, little, rebellious, red-haired girl,” says Bridge, “she’s stuck in her childhood and Emily Carr’s stuck in her old age.”
The exhibit combines Carr’s photos, letters, and artwork to dispel the stereotypes that continue to this day.
“That’s what we’re fighting in the exhibit… to give some respect to the whole person,” says Bridge.
Elder came to the museum archives to do research on Carr and was inspired to create the various portraits of a young Carr in varying artistic styles.
These pieces by Elder are placed alongside Carr’s own work, as well as photographs of Carr as companion pieces, all of which can be seen throughout the exhibit.
“I hope the public is excited at seeing things they’ve never seen before and learning something that they didn’t know,” says Bridge. “If people think they know everything about Emily Carr, they should come. This is my challenge—if you think you know everything, come, and maybe you’ll find something you don’t know.”