Working principally in drawing and print media on paper, Emma Stibbon RA depicts landscapes and environments that are undergoing dynamic transformation, among them the polar regions, volcanic areas, deserts and coastal and urban locations. Her approach is driven by her desire to understand how human activity and the forces of nature are shaping our surroundings: ‘As an artist, I feel committed to representing the impact of these changes, be they natural or human. My impulse is to draw, to act as a witness.’

A regular traveller, Stibbon undertakes field research alongside geologists and scientists; on her return to her Bristol studio, she works from her sketches and photographic records to create large-scale drawn and printed artworks that testify to the fragility of our existence.

Full of Stibbon’s new work, this beautifully designed book contains a foreword by Caroline Lucas MP, an engaging interview with the artist by Sara Cooper, a text on the sublime in nature and art by Richard Fisher and a colour poster of the show’s striking new installation Cliff Fall (2023).

Image credits: Emma Stibbon, Sea Groyne, 2023. Ink and sea salt, 102.5 x 250 cm.; Stuart Bunce photography, © Emma Stibbon; Emma Stibbon, Hope Gap, 2022. Ink and sea salt, 225 x 141 cm.; Stuart Bunce photography, © Emma Stibbon; Emma Stibbon, Tabular Berg, 2022. Intaglio print, 48 x 75 cm.; Stuart Bunce photography, © Emma Stibbon.