Emma Carlow has been making ceramic whistles since 2022 when she became intrigued with them while researching folk art at The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. She realised that most cultures have some form of whistle, used for hunting, music and festivals, or as toys and souvenirs. She decided to learn how to make one and ended up making seven working whistles in one evening. At the suggestion of a friend, she made one whistle every day for a year. 

 

She studied the whistle collections online at The British Museum, The V&A and The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe and used them as inspiration for her growing menagerie. The resulting whistles went on show at The Royal Academy in the 2023 Summer Exhibition.

 

Whilst researching another project she came across medieval bestiaries, illustrated compendiums of animals, birds and rocks, that were popular in the Middle Ages. Each animal illustrated is accompanied by a description of its characteristics and a religious allegory. Often the artist had never seen the animal in question and was working from descriptions from ancient Greek texts. This led to some humorous images and assumptions about colours, numbers of legs and habits. Since then bestiaries have become Emma's main inspiration for the whistles she makes.