The Art House presents Divine Archives, the first solo exhibition by Wakefield-based artist Emily Ryalls. Through photography, performance and sculpture, her practice centres on women’s embodied knowledge and the ways we understand the world through our bodies. This project expands the idea of women’s bodies as an archive, offering a feminist roadmap for how such knowledge can be cared for, shared and preserved.
In summer 2025, Ryalls invited 46 women to explore where knowledge lives within them, and consider their bodies as a radical and beautiful archive shaped by years of sensations, memories, and lived experience. Together, they took part in Ryalls’ “the act of archiving,” recognising the wisdom their bodies hold; knowledge that should be valued, and used for self-reflection and social organising.
Grounded by the words of feminist writer Sara Ahmed – “I was the only witness to this event, my body its memory,” – the exhibition considers how bodies hold, preserve and pass on knowledge, and what it means to honour those memories.
Through collective experiences, the women cast parts of their bodies in clay, letting physical memories rise to the surface. They laid beneath the Yorkshire sun as their forms slowly imprinted onto light-sensitive sheets. They stepped into one another’s worlds, sharing stories and performing for the camera with honesty and vulnerability.
These gatherings provided quiet acts of resistance, reclaiming everyday domestic tasks as opportunities for healing. Others became reflections of time – recalling what their bodies had taught them as children, teenagers, adults and, for some, as mothers – and discovering shared ground in how their bodies have been sexualised, disabled, loved, and transformed.
Divine Archives unites a new body of work that celebrates the act of coming together, and encourages future moments of awakening and resistance. Through 8mm moving image film and handprinted photographs, these gatherings are captured with intimacy and care.
This exhibition also features works made in collaboration with Artist Kelly Rankin, Ceramicist Hannah Way and Filmmaker Michael Godsall.
ACCESS
This exhibition is featured in the Main Gallery.
-The Main Gallery is well-lit.
-The gallery is Guide and Support dog-friendly (We ask that dogs be kept on leads).
-The room has level access, and allows space for wheelchair/mobility aid/pushchair users or people with Guide dogs to pass comfortably.
-The exhibition includes Audio, Braille, Easier Read and Dyslexia-friendly interpretations.
-Sensory ear defenders are available for use during your visit, and can be picked up at the front desk.
We also offer private exhibition views by appointment.
See our Access Page for more information