Emma Lyn Winkler
Talking Heads (2025)

Oil on canvas
36 × 36cm

‘Talking Heads’ explores the theatrics of stage magic, simultaneously unveiling the construction of an illusion and depicting its intended shocking reveal. The triumphant magician’s stunt falls flat as a macabre scene is exposed as a simple gimmick, shattering their aura of supernatural power. Within the context of a 19th-century obsession with magic tricks and death-defying feats, this painting highlights a desire for control in the face of mortality. 

Emma Lyn Winkler is a Naarm-based artist whose multimedia practice confronts death, absurdity, and the fragile comedy of being. Dancing around themes of anxiety and avoidance, her process collages personal photographs, developmental diagrams and a found imagery database to create works informed by personal narratives of anxiety and mental health. Recent work draws upon Victorian escapology, death practices and spiritualism to reflect upon the fleeting comfort of avoidance in the face of our own mortality. Through a sincere yet playful methodology, Emma's layered paintings, medieval-inspired ceramics, and slapstick animations invite viewers to find humour in the inevitable.

Please note: Artworks cannot be shipped. All purchases must be collected on Saturday 14 September, between 12–4pm. If you’re unable to collect during this time, please email us at sawtoothari@gmail.comto arrange an alternative.