Emi Hinoshita-Horley is a creature enthusiast with a passion for folklore, design and illustration. She is a recent graduate of Central St Martins BA Fine Art program, class of '23.

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Her practice focuses on the natural world, the organic and inorganic and creature creation, taking inspiration from folktales and her Japanese heritage. She takes joy in celebrating the unloved and the grotesque.

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What do the characters we create say about our cultural values? How do we navigate our realities through storytelling?

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Feel free to explore her work and get in touch for collaboration opportunities.

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'Some people find puppets creepy – and I'm not disputing that they might be – but I find them fascinating. I'm interested in animism, the idea of objects having life and power. Puppetry is also such an engaging mechanism for telling stories. The puppets in Wonderful, Ugly Children are very lifelike.  I love the composition of the images as well, especially the one with the skull in the background and dried flowers in the foreground. Emi Hinoshita has created a whole world in which the puppets and the landscape almost become one. That is always a really important theme in folk – from Morris dancers to sea creatures, there is always a sense you are blending into the landscape that you are part of it.'

– Lally MacBeth, Founder of The Folk Archive