Native Narrative

Emily Valentine is a contemporary mixed-media artist living and working in Australia and her native New Zealand. Originally trained as a jeweller, she has developed a distinctive sculptural practice that uses feathers as her primary medium - painting with feathers to transform familiar forms into extraordinary hybrid creatures. Through meticulous craftsmanship and an acute eye for detail, Valentine creates richly textured works that blur the boundaries between sculpture, jewellery, and natural history.

Inspired by the landscapes and wildlife of the Pacific, Valentine constructs imagined species from ready-made figurines, combining Australian fauna with the colours and textures of indigenous bird feathers. These playful yet unsettling sculptures evoke a speculative future in which nature, fantasy, and genetic possibility converge. Beneath their beauty lies a deeper enquiry into humanity's relationship with the natural world.

Central to Valentine's practice is the ethical sourcing of her materials. Since first incorporating feathers into her work in 1999, she has predominantly used feathers gathered from roadkill or naturally moulted by pet birds. By repurposing these overlooked remnants, she encourages viewers to consider the value we place on different species and to question the unconscious hierarchies that classify animals as cherished or expendable, beautiful or ordinary.

Valentine has received international recognition for her work. She won the 2014 WOW Factor Award at the World of Wearable Art Awards and has received honours including the Cat Advocate Prize for Emerging Artist and the Alice Springs Acquisition Award. Her work is held in the collections of the National Library of Australia, the Northern Territory Art Gallery, and the World of Wearable Art Museum, New Zealand.