Charlotte Hodes has been commissioned by the British Ceramic Biennial to create a major new installation to be shown at the 2015 Biennial.
The tableware installation Spode Trees and Dressed Silhouettes takes the form of the aftermath of a dinner onto which printed imagery and texts found on the Spode Museum Trust Archive of engravings have been de-constructed, re-ordered and collaged onto the ware.
The images and patterns cross over from one plate to another to create the impression that the women, presented in the form of silhouettes, have descended and are momentarily held in a seemingly random configuration. Women have often been allocated to the subservient role of both laying the table in preparation and the subsequent clearing up rather than being active participants. In this installation the women take ownership of their domestic landscape, moving effortlessly across the ware.
The installation is the result of many years involvement with ceramics at Spode and a recent Arts Council of England Award 2014 (with artist Paul Scott) for research and development. Charlotte Hodes and Paul Scott’s work will also be featured in a dedicated cabinet display at the Spode Visitor Centre as part of the BCB.
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