Contemporary multimedia portrait series showcasing mighty women including cultural activists, journalists, creatives and filmmakers will go on display this October at Hoxton Arches in London.

Samantha Louise Emery’s second portrait series IKONA | Wise Women, which includes portraits of Tara Westover, Andrea McLean and Adrienne Clarkson, offers a modern take on the divine feminine. The artist intertwines underwater photography, embroidery, paintwork and giclée printing to express the strengths of women and their interconnectedness with each other, and with our Mother Earth.

Emery set out on a mission to discover and meet ten inspiring women from around the world who resonated with her quest to understand the wisdoms of womanhood. This journey inspired the artist to venture underwater to create her signature self portraiture which she digitally infuses into her portraits. Once the artworks were printed, she began her unique process of embroidering and painting onto each canvas. This is the first time that Emery used underwater photography as part of her creative process, she says:

“I believe women as individuals and as a collective wield great power, and I want this series to inspire us all to reclaim our divine feminine force. Womenkind holds an affinity with our waters being both nurturing and powerful. As part of this project, I was compelled to learn the art of freediving in order to affirm our deep interconnection with nature and to highlight the urgent need to protect our global waters.”

Activism is an essential part of Emery’s process as she seeks to have a positive impact through her art. 10% of proceeds from the ten Wise Women portraits will be donated to worldwide charities chosen by each woman, whilst 10% of proceeds from three additional artworks will be donated to the Sea Change Project, producers of the award winning documentary My Octopus Teacher.

In addition to the ten portraits that will be unveiled at the exhibition, Emery has released two of the additional artworks that embody the divine feminine energy that resides in us all. The Healer and The Protector are the modern goddesses that seek to remind us of our sacred power and united force.

The ten subjects in the IKONA | Wise Women series are Andrea Luka Zimmerman, filmmaker and cultural activist; Asieh Amini, award-winning poet and journalist; Kathryn Kemp-Griffin, women’s advocate and author; Özge Borak, actress and environmental activist; Char Ellesse, creator and founder of Girls Will Be Boys; Andrea McLean, author and co-founder of This Girl is on Fire; The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, author and former Governor General of Canada; Marianne McKenna, distinguished architect and founding partner of KPMB Architects; Tara Westover, best-selling author; Emma Frank, musician and singer-songwriter.