A Jersey-born artist has joined the ranks of art world greats after her Japanese-inspired print series was acquired by the British Museum – securing a permanent place alongside some of the world’s most iconic works.
Emily Allchurch’s ‘Tokyo Story’ will go on display in London next month and features in a new exhibition honouring master printmaker Hiroshige, whose work inspired the striking photo collages.
It marks a major career milestone for the former Jersey College for Girls student, who described the honour as “a very special moment”.
Emily is best known for her trademark digital media style of using hundreds of photographs to create new collages, which she has exhibited locally and internationally.
Emily has used her artistic talent to commemorate various significant events in Jersey, including the late Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, where she was selected by the States of Jersey to commemorate the island’s involvement in the milestone anniversary.
The painting she created for that occasion, titled ‘Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee River Pageant, 3rd June 2012‘, was inspired by a similarly structured masterwork from the 1700s by Francis Wheatley and Richard Paton, and was unveiled by then Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall during their visit to the island in 2012.
Her Japanese-inspired print series was selected by the Department of Asia at the British Museum for its Japanese galleries.
‘Tokyo Story’ is a selection of prints Emily created over a number of years using her own large image library.
The photographs have been spliced together to reconstruct old masterwork paintings in a contemporary light, to illustrate the passage of time and changing landscapes in the city.
The series pays homage to the famed landscape artist Utagawa Hiroshige’s last work, ‘One Hundred Famous Views of Edo’ (1856-58), where Emily has transposed his distinctive woodblock techniques and vivid colouring to capture the Japanense capital in contemporary digital collages.
Pictured: Archival prints from ‘Tokyo Story’
Before the milestone acquisition, the prints, which were first launched in 2011 in London, have since been exhibited all over the world, including the USA, Japan, the UK and Singapore.
“Knowing that these works are in the custodianship of such an important institution, along with the original woodblock prints by Hiroshige, is thrilling and a very special moment in my career,” Emily commented.
One of Emily’s prints has also been chosen for the British Museum’s upcoming summer exhibition, ‘Hiroshige – Artist of the Open Road’ which opens on 1 May and runs until September 2025.
Dr Alfred Haft, project curator in the Japanese section of the Department of Asia at the British Museum said the prints “inventively” refer to major Japanese print design while “simultaneously offering a glimpse into daily life in modern Japan”.
Dr Haft said: “The British Museum is thrilled to have acquired the complete series ‘Tokyo Story’ by Emily Allchurch.
He added: “We look forward to featuring Emily’s engaging work this summer.”
To coincide with the summer exhibition at the British Museum, some of Emily’s prints from the series will be exhibited in Jersey at Private & Public Gallery.
Islanders will be able to view the acclaimed artwork from 16 May as part of a group exhibition titled ‘Big in Japan’.