Emma J V Parker was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK and, seeking new frontiers, she immigrated to Australia in 2018 and is now based in Melbourne. Parker earned a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Ceramics and Master of Arts from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff, UK. Alongside her studio practice she trained as a secondary school teacher and has worked with ceramics in arts education in both the UK and Australia. 

Since arriving in Melbourne, Parker has had a solo exhibition at Canberra Potters Society, been guest artist in residence at Northcote Pottery Supplies and had work acquired from the 2022 Clunes Ceramics Award Finalist’s exhibition by the Art Gallery of Ballarat. 

Parker’s work is informed by a lifelong interest in storytelling, be it candid contemporaneous podcasting, historical journalism, or narratives within the paradigm of fairy-tale. Through her study of painting, printmaking, and ceramics, she became deeply influenced by the notion of narrative through surface decoration and draws upon this in her ceramic practice, imbuing her simple figurative forms with deeper meaning. 

Perpetually engaged by her new surroundings Parker is stimulated to reassess different aspects of British and colonial histories through her work.

She is currently exhibiting as a finalist in the North Queensland Ceramics Award 2024.