Charity photography auction Sub-Merge spotlights mental health in 2020
In aid of charity Mind, London-based creative studio Emulsion has conceived Sub-Merge, an innovative exploration of mental health through photography

Emulsion has commissioned an innovative, experimental project on the intersections of art, technology and mental health.
In aid of UK mental health charity, Mind, the online print sale features photographic work that delves into imagined realities and unseen perspectives, collective memories, and diverse identities, while advocating, and raising funds for, mental health awareness.
Sub-Merge was created in response to the detrimental and potentially long-term effects of recent world events on mental health. ‘2020 has put considerable strains, changes and impacts on our mental state. Sub-Merge is a reaction to one of our generations biggest challenges – our relationship with technology. Using photography in its broadest sense, we wanted to encourage innovative and creative uses of new technologies, alongside our “natural” states of being, to promote healthy living and to expand consciousness,’ says Nick Hadfield, Emulsion’s photo and film editor.
Sub-Merge goes beyond the bounds of photography conventions, enlisting an internation mix of digital artists, filmmakers and photographers to contribute work that captures the ephemerality, and altered states of consciousness in contemporary existence. The project transcends photography’s role as a vehicle for objective realism, embracing its potential for a transformative and fluid experience and a ground for optical experimentation.
The sale, available online until 16 December, features contributions from Ed Atkins, Harley Weir, Cédric Kouamé, Jon Emmony, Olga Fedorova, Will Grundy, Jordan Hemingway, Clément Lambelet, Gabriel Massan, Gareth McConnell and Ruby Okoro. 100 per cent of profits from the sale will be donated to Mind, with each print will be priced at approachable £100 plus postage and packaging.
INFORMATION
Prints featured in Sub-Merge will be available to purchase online globally until 16 December 2020. submerge.emulsion.online
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Harriet Lloyd-Smith was the Arts Editor of Wallpaper*, responsible for the art pages across digital and print, including profiles, exhibition reviews, and contemporary art collaborations. She started at Wallpaper* in 2017 and has written for leading contemporary art publications, auction houses and arts charities, and lectured on review writing and art journalism. When she’s not writing about art, she’s making her own.
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