Emma Webster’s Vapors: A Haunting Exploration of Landscape and Illusion
- Gen de Art
- Mar 23
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 23
Perrotin Hong Kong presents Vapors, the solo debut of British-American artist Emma Webster. Running from March 25 to May 17, 2025, the exhibition showcases 11 paintings created in response to the recent Los Angeles wildfires. Webster merges traditional painting with digital technology, crafting surreal landscapes that blur reality and illusion.
Emma Webster, 2025.
Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin. Photo: Mack Breeden.
Landscapes of Uncertainty
Webster’s paintings depict eerie, empty vistas that suggest impending catastrophe or its quiet aftermath. Inspired by the California wildfires that devastated Pacific Palisades—her maternal family’s hometown—she channels the emotional weight of environmental disaster into her work. Vapors reflects the paradox of living in a time of climate crisis: urgency mixed with inaction, reminiscent of the pandemic’s surreal monotony.
The title Vapors references fleeting natural phenomena, symbolizing impermanence and transformation. Historically, “having the vapors” described melancholia—an apt metaphor for the unsettling mood in Webster’s work.
Blurring the Real and the Digital
Unlike traditional landscape painters, Webster does not depict real scenes. Instead, she builds digital dioramas using 3D modeling, VR tools like Oculus, and sculpture techniques. These constructed worlds are projected onto canvas, then transformed with masterful brushwork. Her fusion of classical and contemporary methods creates paintings that feel both timeless and futuristic.
Stillness in Motion
Birds, typically symbols of flight, appear frozen in unnatural postures. A vulture in Alaska is calcified and stiff; a sparrow in Sparrow hovers unnaturally midair. These works evoke Romantic portraiture while hinting at ecological imbalance.
Meanwhile, in Brushwood, a digitally enlarged bonsai tree dominates the scene, its exaggerated presence reinforcing nature’s fragility. The play of light across its branches recalls the divine radiance of classical religious paintings.
Woodside, 2025, Oil on linen, 243.8 × 182.9 cm.
Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin. Photo: Ringo Cheung.
Alaska, 2025, Oil on linen, 213.4 × 152.4 cm.
Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin. Photo: Ringo Cheung.
A Vision of Change
Moving away from the sci-fi terrains of her past work, Vapors embraces stark compositions where vastness equates to solitude. In Woodside, named after her childhood street, forests appear intentionally placed rather than natural. The Means That Make introduces a spiritual dimension, with glowing horizons reminiscent of William Blake’s visionary works.
Where Art and Technology Collide
Webster’s work explores the intersection of climate crisis, digital landscapes, and human perception. In an era where reality is increasingly mediated by technology, Vapors invites us to question what is real, urging reflection on both our environmental impact and the illusions we create.
Emma Webster: Vapors
Venue: Perrotin Hong Kong
Adresse: 807, K11 ATELIER Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Dates: March 25 – May 17, 2025
Admission: Free
