ESTR Emmalene Blake

Emmalene is a visual artist residing in Dublin, working predominantly on large scale murals. Since graduating from Dublin Institute of Technology with an BA in Fine Art in 2012, she has been honing her craft as a street artist. She has painted live at many events, as well as painting large scale murals throughout Ireland and abroad. Her time is spread between painting outdoor large-scale pieces, studio work and teaching Art & Design in Youthreach.

Her work is frequently socio-political and very much influenced by the world around her and by issues she feels strongly about. As a result, recurring themes in her work include human rights, environmental issues, inequality, feminism, as well as pop culture and humour. She strongly believes in the power of public art as a means of reflecting the world and of engaging the wider public in conversations about culture and society.

Throughout the pandemic Emmalene has been painting a series of murals, using pop culture as a means of encouraging people to take measures to stay safe, lifting spirits as well as reflecting how people are feeling in lockdown. These works have been featured on RTE News, Virgin Media, NBC, CNN as well as many other national and international news outlets and in three books.