Emily Oetegenn is an artist-writer and director whose multimedia work explores themes of queer love, disability, sensuality, womanhood and rage, her Aphrodite gaze validating their relationship to one another. The work, which centres around poetry and the spoken word, strives to challenge misrepresentations of disabled communities.

She is also founding director of multimedia platform Tales and Scales Productions, which prioritises producing proudly with authentic creativity. Tales and Scales champions, empowers and celebrates neurodivergent, disabled and queer performance artists and their allies, under the direction of an artist who is proudly all of the above!

This exhibition is part of a longstanding collaboration between Emily Oetegenn and Artlink Hull and 87 Gallery, which has seen her work included in group exhibitions as part of our Creative Connections programme, and the production of her quarterly Tales and Scales open mic nights.

For her first solo exhibition, Oetegenn has worked with Fly Girl Films to create a film for her poem ‘Special’, which documents a journey towards self-acceptance. The work adopts a nostalgic, home-video format and is inspired by the artist’s childhood and of living with cerebral palsy (CP). The film follows two lovers through the holidays of Christmas, New Year and Valentine’s Day. These holidays represent times of unity and coming together, which are central to the poem.