Emily Bates graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1993, and became recognised for a body of work, and ‘impossible’ dresses, made during the 1990’s, that were constructed from knitted human hair: Dress, Depilator and Sibilla, and exhibited internationally including, Revelation Barbican Centre and National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto, 1997; Addressing the Century: 100 Years of Art and Fashion Hayward Gallery and Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg, 1998; Weaving the World Yokohama Museum of Art, 1999; and Body Extensions MUDAC, Lausanne, 2004.

In 1997, she was awarded the Scottish Arts Council residency in Amsterdam, where the use of photography and in- depth field research became a large focus of her working practice, and where she remains based.
She has since travelled extensively to undertake long term projects and create works centred on narrative methodology within oral traditions and rituals related to landscape, and its distorted climatic rhythm, and human exploitation, particularly within remote and spiritual locations in Japan, China, South Korea, Italy and the Scottish isles.

Installations interweaving video, super 8, sound recordings, textiles and sculptural structures, have been created, alongside and encompassing the photographic series. Diverse printing techniques and scales of production are embraced supporting the conceptual yet intuitive core of the work.
Recent series created within the Netherlands, draw upon her vocabulary of Asian arts and spiritual practice, whilst dislodging narratives such as climate change and migration through local flora, flatlands, and museum archives.

Her research has been supported by residency and fellowship awards, notably: Pier Arts Centre, Orkney, 2000; Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Sweden, 2000; S-Air, Sapporo, Japan, 2002-03; Lijiang Studio, China, 2006 / 2007; as the Dutch Affiliated Visual Arts Fellow at the American Academy in Rome, 2008; in 2017 as the Mondriaan Fonds artist in residence with MMCA in Seoul; and with the Vincent van Gogh Huis in Brabant, 2021.

In 2023 she launched isle_amsterdam, a place for gathering, story-telling and sharing, with an exhibition and concert, hosted within her private studio within the atelier WG complex in Amsterdam.

SELECTED ACQUISITIONS AND COLLECTIONS:

Imaginary Collection, Tlön Projects, Amsterdam, NL
Vincent van Gogh Huis museum, Zundert, NL
MUDAM Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg
Arendt & Medernach photography collection, Luxembourg
MAC’s Musée des Arts Contemporains, Grand Hornu, Belgium
FRAC Fonds régional d’art contemporain Poitou-Charentes, Angouleme, France Paisley Museum, Scotland

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS:

Hanami Blossom | Upstairs at the Globe with Fountainwell Press, London, UK | PhotoLondon

Lost Spring. Lost Year | Inaugural video commission | Museum W, Weert, NL

The sky is glowing with the setting sun | MUDAM Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg

The Nurturing Island | Arendt & Medernach, Luxembourg

Love Scenes | Casino Forum d’art contemporain, Luxembourg

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

2024: Me voici, entres réalités et utopies | Babel, Mallorca
With stanley brouwn | Didier Bay | Jacques Charlier | Arnaud Cohen | Simone Decker | Wim Delvoye | Sanja Iveković | Jill Mercedes | Bert Theis ... Curated by Enrico Lunghi
Aanwinsten. Van Gogh Air | Vincent van Gogh Huis, Zundert, NL

2023: Faire Barrage | FRAC Poitou-Charentes, France

Coming to Light. Historical Printing Techniques | Bildhalle gallery, Amsterdam, NL
With Mika Horie | Paul Cupido | Jeffery Conley | Albarrán Cabrera | Douglas Mandry | Naohiro Ninomiya

2022: Face-à-Face | MUDAM Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg & Saarlandmuseum Saarbrücken With Giorgio de Chirico | Max Ernst | Fernand Léger | Henri Matisse | László Moholy-Nagy | Auguste Renoir | Auguste Rodin | Katinka Bock | Nan Goldin | Alicja Kwade | Little Warsaw | Pascal Convert | Mark Lewis | Lee Bul...

Russian Warship Go Fuck Yourself | Anti-war Coalition Art Online with touring exhibitions
With Francis Alÿs | Hito Steyerl | Ahmet Ögüt | Aleksander Komarov...

2021: Re:value. Emily Bates, Andrei Farcasanu, Margaret Lansink, René van Hulst | The Gallery Club, Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, NL

Éclat de Son as part of GR2021 | Abbaye aux Dames / FRAC Poitou-Charentes, France

The Smile of the Sphinx | Collegium Artisticum, Sarajevo
With Dalila Dalléas Bouzar | Selma Doborac | Esra Ersen | Jeanne Frank | Ásdís Sif Gunnarsdóttir | Andrea Heyer | Benedetta Jacovoni | Smilja Jankovic | Annalisa Macagnino | Leila Mirzakhani | Elly Nagaoka | Laura Palmieri | Mila Panic | Elizabeth Penker | Manja Ristic | Alice Schivardi | Selma Selman | Sigga Björg Siguröardóttir | Alexandra Wolframm...

2020: The Living Room | The Gallery Club, Amsterdam, NL
With Iwan Baan | Savatore Galifa | Mialn Gies | Sem Langendijk | Benrido Collotype

Onward & Forward – Art in the Garden of Life | Droog Design, Amsterdam, NL
With Anthony Goicolea | Anya Janssen | Driessens&Verstappen | Elspeth Diederix | Emma Prempeh | Genevieve Murphy | George Stamenov | Joana Choumali | Margaret Lansink | Mike Pelletier | Niek Hendrix | Sophie Ruigrok | Sethemblle Msezane | Jorge Mañes Rubio | Charlotta Östlund | Desirée Dolron | Dora Lionstone | Yi-Fei Chen | Levi van Veluw...

Avant Gardener: Emily Bates, Anthea Bush, Christina della Giustina, Servet Kocyigit | PuntWG, Amsterdam, NL | Curated by Naz Kocadere

Corona in de Stad | Amsterdam Museum (online exhibition)

Plan A | FRAC Poitou-Charentes, Angouleme, France
With Karel Appel | Michel Blazy | Marcel Broodthaers | Jacques Charlier | Louis Cordesse | Fabrice Hybert | Claude Lévêque | Sol LeWitt | Roman Signer | Lily van der Stokker