Originally from Belfast, Emma studied Documentary Photography at Newport until 2000, after which she relocated to London to work for the BBC, The Times and the Independent for over a decade. Recently relocated back to Belfast, Emma gained a Masters of Fine Art in Photography from the University of Ulster in 2012. Emma has been an active organisational and campaigning member of the Belfast Feminist Network and Vice-Chair/Campaign leader for Alliance for Choice, Belfast. The study continues at U.U, with a practice-based PhD continuing her activist artworks and the impact of women's documentary photography in the UK.
Emma deals with gendered themes in her work and has previously explored the portrayal of female adolescence, the diary as an exploration of sibling identity, the masquerade of gender in photography as well as social and political issues that directly affect women up to and including a significant body of work on access to abortion in Northern Ireland