About the work

Flanked Regalia is a drawing which emerged from time spent at Launchpad LaB residency in 2023, fusing elements of archaeological vessels, mythologies of the imaginary and the forms and patterns of crests and regalia.

Emii Alrai is an artist and trained museum registrar whose work spans material investigation in relation to memory, critique of the western museologial structure and the complexity of ruins. Working primarily in sculpture and installation, her work operates as large-scale realms built in relation to bodies of research which concern archaeology and the natural environments objects are excavated from. Weaving in oral histories, inherited nostalgia and the details of language to question the rigidity of Empire and the power of hierarchy to interpolate the static presence of history. Clay vessels, gypsum forms and steel armatures punctuate the labyrinth-like spaces Alrai creates, mimicking museum dioramas and romanticised visions of the past.

Date and country of birth

1993, GB

Career Highlights

Drawing Attention: Emerging Artists in Dialogue, British Museum Touring Exhibition, York Art Gallery (2023);

A Permanent Departure for Nostalgia, A rehearsal on legacy with Zaha Hadid, Contemporary Arts Centre, Cincinnati (2023);

And The Mirrors Are Many, curated by Mona Al Jadir, Warehouse 421, Abu Dhabi (2023);

breathe, spirit and life 呼吸、靈魂與生命, curated by Katherine Ka Yi Liu, The Bluecoat, Liverpool (2022);

Exploratory Drawings, Maximillian William, London (2022);

A Core of Scar, Future Collect Commission, The Hepworth Wakefield & iniva, Wakefield (2022);

The Courtship of Giants, Eastside Projects, Birmingham (2022);

Passing of the Lilies, Jerwood Solo Presentations, Jerwood Arts, London (2021);

The High Dam, The Tetley, Leeds (2020).