Emma Alice Coppola

Emma Alice Coppola, born in 2001, grew up in Johannesburg and currently resides in Linden. She is a student at the University of Johannesburg, completing her Honors in Fine Art.

Coppola developed an interest in Visual Arts at a young age. This was nurtured and grew through guidance from South African artist Robyn Penn. Coppola took Design and Visual Arts throughout her secondary school career, which laid the foundation for her pursuit of and completion of a Visual Arts undergraduate degree at the University of Johannesburg in 2023. Coppola is now completing her BA Honors in Fine Arts at the university and is part of the Dean’s Merit List for her achievements in her undergraduate degree.

Coppola is primarily a printmaker, preferring to work with intaglio techniques, specifically zinc etchings—however, sculpture and drawing form essential components of her practice. Coppola is currently doing work placement with South African printmaker Bevan De Wet at his printmaking studio, Eleven Editions, in Johannesburg. Coppola draws inspiration from artists like Diane Victor, Mary Sibande and Judith Mason, as well as philosopher Julia Kristeva and film director Peter Greenaway.

Coppola draws on lived experience and the world around her. She responds to social issues concerning the politics of the female body and philosophies surrounding abjection, autonomy, and other ‘feminist’ theories. Her work is, therefore, an ‘articulation’ of self and identity and an attempt to connect with those around her through this expression of self and shared experiences.