Charlotte Hodes

Figures and Patterns: Paper Cut-outs and Ceramics

15 September - 30 October 2006

The work in this exhibition focuses on the role of ceramics within Hodes overall practice as a painter. She is concerned with ceramics in terms of the potential that it has in presenting an 'alternative' canvas onto which she can project her imagery.

There are two unifying concerns within Charlotte's work which are evident in the ceramic pieces: "Firstly, as a working method, I use collage as a way to construct my imagery. This ranges from the literal cut and paste where physical elements are moved around through to the digital where the simulation of this process is carried out on the computer screen. This involvement with collage quite naturally introduces ideas of layering and the way in which a surface carries with it a history of its making. The second unifying concern is within the imagery itself, which is centred on the motif of the female figure and its relationship to pattern and ornamentation."

There is something intrinsically feminine about both these concerns; the collage methodology references a history of making that is associated with women where a 'whole' is made up of small parts and fragments such as American quilts while the tradition of decoration and embellishment have so much come to represent the 'female touch'.

Hodes' female figures inhabit a world of common place objects, domestic utensils as well as computer icons. They have an almost ethereal quality, a trace of a female presence that leaves its mark. These ceramics works, with all their domestic references, then re-enter domestic environment in a similar way to the ware of the past. It is easy to forget how important the visions and the landscapes that embellished the ware from the18th and 19th century factories were in providing a window into 'other' worlds for generations of people.

This show includes unique works made between 1999-2004 at the ceramic factory, Spode, made using existing factory ware, the imagery being constructed using a group of copper engraved transfers from the Spode archive. Recent works on show include thrown pieces decorated with slip and enamel transfers as well as the original collages which are an inspiration and starting point for the decoration on the ceramics teacups, saucers, plates and vases.