• 2 person exhibition with Ian Munroe at upstairs berlin, Zimmerstrasse 90/91, Ausgang A, 10117, Berlin. June 1st to July 16th, 2005
• Printed catalogue 'Utopian Architecture' containing an interview with the artist and Dr Harriet Haussler, co-Director, Gallery 'upstairs berlin', Berlin
• Works from this output included in The Drawing Book, a survey of drawing: the primary means of expression, Tania Kovats ed, Black Dog, London, pp.154–157. ISBN 1 904772 331

This exhibition was realised from a new body of work based on travelling, walking and looking down on the city of Berlin. The work addresses Berlin’s experience of the political and social extremes of the twentieth century, reflected in the imprint of the city’s monumental street plans and buildings. The success or failure of many urban planning projects - good or bad - flavours the work, itself often derived from an underlying atmosphere of nostalgia for a lost optimism or utopian ideal. The work is not intended to give an overtly historical representation of site but to explore the meanings redolent in an elusive, fictionalised sense of place.

Following from this project I was selected for a residency at the Baumwollspinnerei Studios, Leipzig (June 2005) supported by the Stiftung Federkiel Foundation. This gave me the opportunity to develop the project into two artist books. Neubau and Arbeitsstatte relate to the city’s interesting history, often associated with the former DDR. A forward is prepared for this by Dr Iain Biggs, University of the West of England.

In relation to the Utopian Architecture project, I was invited to participate in the 4th International Gyumri Biennial, Armenia (supported by the British Council). I am currently in discussion with the Stadtmuseum, Berlin who are interested in planning a solo show of my work in 2009/2010. Looking at the built environment and memory I plan to work in response to the Museum’s permanent collection of photographs of the city.

Reviews and articles

2007

• 'Vitruv und die Folgen: Drawing Book', Jitter, pp.69-70, November

2006

• 'Emma Stibbon' Kasino VI, Kunst Kultur Pfade: Standard, April
• 'Bitte um Kenntnisnahme', Daniela Gregor, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, April 8
• 'Nordenfjords 2006', Kunstens Venner i Vendsyssel, February
• 'Drawing Quarters 2006', University of the West of England, School of Art, Media and Design, June 2006

2005

• 'Ian Munroe and Emma Stibbon: Utopian Architecture', Sebastien Schwarzenberger, Artery Kunstfuhrer Berlin, August – September 2005
• 'Die Kultur der Angst', ACC-Weimar.de, July 2005
• 'upstairs berlin Gallery, Utopian Architecture’ Combats Magazine, 27 July, 2005
• 'Kunstrundgang', Brigitte Werneburg, TAZ Berlin, July 13, 2005
• 'KUNSTStucke: Wurfelkunst', Der Tagesspiegel, July 9, 2005
• 'Open to Question', Printmaking Today, Autumn, p.4 2004

"The Berlin woodcuts are based on photographs of architecture but Stibbon deliberately changed scales and proportions to produce images that have a recognisable sense of place but are not simply topographic.. Their Hitchcockian air is unmistakeable; in addition to framing a scene, they also frame a way of life in a city forever in flux. They are visual examples of how political ideology can create urban space….  For her, these works depict the sun setting on an ideal of utopia – not quite dystopia but a failure to realise the dream."
(Juliet Cook, 'In Search of the Sublime', Printmaking Today, International Magazine of Contemporary Graphic Art, Vol 15 No 4)

Awards

2006

• Printmaking Today Prize, for Berlin East. I exhibited in Originals ’06 at the Mall Galleries, London

2004 

• TN Lawrence Prize for Berlin East II, exhibited in the Open Print Exhibition at the Royal West of England Academy, Bristol

Other venues showing works from Utopian Architecture:

2007

• Jetzt, curated by Michael Haas, Beck & Eggeling
• Committed to Print RWA, Bristol in association with Centre for Fine Art Print Research at University of the West of England, from 3 June – 22 July, invited group exhibition
• Raumwelten in the Kunsthalle Arnstadt, Arnstadt, Germany, from 7 January – 15 March, invited (4 artists)

2006

• Nordenfjords in Kunst fra Berlin, Kunstbygningen i Vra Denmark, invited group show
• Reflex shown at Llantarnum Grange Arts Centre, Wales (curated by Richard Cox) from 23 April to 4 June 2005, accompanying catalogue published by Llantarnum Grange Art Centre, pages 10 & 11. Invited (4 artists)

Image information

1. Berlin East I, woodcut, 204 x 124cm, 2005
2. Berlin East II, woodcut, 130 x 160cm, 2005
3. Berlin East IV, woodcut, 117 x 236cm, 2005
4. Olympia Stadion U Bahn, white chalk on black prepared paper, 56.6 x 40.4cm, 2005
5. Glockenturm, White chalk on black prepared paper, 56.6 x 40.4cm, 2005
6. Tiergarten II, white chalk on black prepared paper, 56.6 x 40.4cm, 2005
7. Alexanderplatz, White chalk on black prepared paper, 56.6 x 40.4cm, 2005
8. Kino International, white chalk on black prepared paper, 56.6 x 40.4cm, 2005