Ema Coelho

Packing. Movement. Unpacking. Repeat.

Bubble wrap holds, protects, softens impact. It is designed to hold fragile things, absorbing shock before it reaches what is held inside.

But what exactly is fragile?

The objects being carried, or the body that carries them?

Ema Coelho works with materials of transport– bubble wrap, stitching, layered surfaces, and constructed forms– repeating gestures of care, protection, and restraint. Drawing from experiences of migration and relocation, her work reflects on the emotional and physical exhaustion of constant movement, goodbyes, and starting over. Within a contained structure, a body is held between departure and arrival, between protection and restriction, between home and elsewhere.

Exhaustion builds through repetition.

Memory folds into material.

Repetition becomes a way of holding what cannot fully settle.

The work exists in transit: wrapped, contained, and not entirely at home.