How talented autistic artist Emy Spinks uses her art to communicate how she sees the world

I first met Emy four years ago when she had an exhibition in York. Then she was mainly using her substantial artistic talents to draw cartoon characters.

Now Emy has moved on to recreating her favourite parts of Yorkshire – as she sees them – and the result is 21 of her individual works, Yorkshire Landscapes, on display at Selby Abbey until the end of the month. It adds to the list of places that have exhibited Emy’s work, alongside the likes of her work on show in Milan, New York, Greece.

India Pierson is Emy’s support worker and representative and she explains how the exhibition came about.

"I have worked with Emy for the last five years and we work together in Emy’s Selby-based studio. We decided to create an exhibition after Emy created several pieces of artwork of places we’d visited in Yorkshire since lockdown ended. Being free to explore and have days out again gave us a renewed sense of our surroundings. Emy has thrived from being able to go out and about since the end of lockdown, she always takes her camera and loves photographing places she visit and creating artwork based on this. When we get back we research them on the computer, which Emy really likes to do. We also Google other Yorkshire places and that gives Emy ideas for her art. We had so many works that I approached Selby Abbey and asked if they ever exhibited works of art and they said that they did and that the current exhibition was about to come down and they’d love to have Emy’s work.”

The exhibit features 21 original pieces which are mostly paint and mixed media collages on canvas. She comes from an artistic family, her grandfather, Mike Williams, is a cartoonist who has had a long career in cartooning and regularly featured in Punch – where he was art editor for a period – Private Eye, The Spectator and The Oldie, as well as newspapers and advertising campaigns and her mum Andrea has a degree in animation.

"Emy often uses local information and maps in her artwork as collage materials, so you may spot snippets of historical facts and detailed maps amongst Emy’s art,” says India. “Through this exhibition she has been able to share some of her favourite places to visit in Yorkshire, along with a few she’d like to visit too. She uses the pictures and photographs to paint a landscape of Yorkshire as she sees it

The exhibition acts as an insight into Emy’s world and celebrates the variety of landscapes found in Yorkshire, from coast, to moors, dales and towns.

"We’ve enjoyed learning about the history of each place whilst researching for information and uncovering stories of the local area. This has given Emy a better connection to her Yorkshire roots. Some of the places featured in the exhibition include Selby Abbey itself, various landmarks in York and further afield such as Whitby, the moors and Yorkshire dales and Brimham Rocks.

"Selby Abbey is the perfect backdrop for Emy’s exhibition, displaying her celebration of Yorkshire Landscapes in such an icon historical place.” What is remarkable about Emy’s work is the speed with which she draws once she decides what she is going to do. It can take time for her to work up to it but nice she does she’s off. Where as we would make mistakes and rub them out, Emy just draws and it is perfect every time.”

Emy often gets asked to draw particular things - which can be tricky.

"She was asked once to do a series of three large paintings from How to Train Your Dragon. She’d never seen the film and wasn’t that bothered. But we watched it and talked about it and about three weeks later she just sat down and started drawling. It is always very much on Emy’s terms.” Having worked with Emy for a number of years India has learnt to understand Emy’s body language and the few words and sounds she makes to gather what she wants and how she feels.

Emy, was two years old when she was diagnosed with profound autism, is a member of the Blueberry Academy which works with people with learning difficulties, and continued to meet India during lockdown. Emy and India had had sole use of Blueberry’s pop-up shop in Micklegate in York during the pandemic.

"I would either go to her house or she would come to mine or we’d go to the Blueberry Academy – no one else was there and I really saw the difference in Emy. I think she really enjoyed lockdown in many ways. Everywhere we went was so much quieter and although it is important for her to socialise, I think the one on one time really brought out the best in her.”

During lockdown Emy created cards that she and India delivered to old people’s homes or people who were on their own.

"Emy likes to have a purpose to her the art, not just drawing for the sake of it,” says India. “She enjoyed the whole process from making the cards, then addressing them and then going to the post office or delivering them and then receiving a letter back thanking her for the card. The same goes when she sells a painting. She likes to be involves from beginning to end including packaging them up including a card she’s made and then going to the post office. Sometimes people send photographs back of her art work in their homes and she really loves to see that.

"It has been hard getting her used to more people being around again since the end of lockdwon and she has started wearing her ear defenders as as she has become particularly sensitive to noise, but she loves to see her work on display and it when she sees it on display it is almost as if she is seeing it for the first time.”

The exhibition is free to visit within the opening hours of Selby Abbey and many of the original pieces on display are also for sale. Sales can also be arranged via Emy’s Facebook page ‘Emy Spinks Arts’ and email [email protected]. She also has an Etsy account where she sells her art.