Cushion
Hannah is originally from Cornwall but has lived in London since 2005. Her studio is in Deptford, south east London and alongside her creative practice she works as a museum educator facilitating, developing and programming workshops for schools, families and young people.
Her work is concerned with issues of preservation and archiving, using traditional methods of preservation in unconventional ways such as shirts ‘preserved’ in salt and photographs ‘preserved’ in wax. The original objects are ultimately altered/defaced but become precious again in their own right, metamorphosing into something new.
She is interested in how we store these object within our homes – in shoe boxes, cupboards, drawers and tins. How long do we keep these things, and for whom? How precious are they? What should we keep? Do we know they are there still or have the slipped down the side out of sight and out of mind? She uses found photographs that were once important enough to keep for many years, yet are now unimportant enough to keep but still too valuable to destroy.
The photographs she uses are images that would have existed as part of someone’s personal collection and the furniture she uses is also domestic furniture from a specific era. The furniture is wood and comes from the 60’s and 70’s giving it time to gather its own patina of memory. Nostalgia, memoriam, a time or moment that has passed all play parts in her work. Drawers hold and protect their contents and by way of shape also frames the object in much the same way as a frame protects and shows off its contents.
Since losing a substantial amount of her work in a fire these questions what, why and how we keep have again become relevant. How important is it that we keep things? When these objects are finally lost, forgotten about or destroyed does it matter? Who would it matter to?
Education
2011 - 2013
Post Compulsory PGCE, Institute of Education
2005 - 2007
BA (Hons) Mixed Media Fine Art (1st class), University of Westminster
2003 - 2005
HND Mixed Media Fine Arts (Merit), Cornwall College
Grants
2020
Notting Hill Genesis - Wellbeing Fund
Developing and delivering an intergenerational community based project on the Aylesbury Estate, London to build resilience to change as the estate is regenerated.
2008/09
Artist Access to Art Colleges, Central St Martins, London
Utilising 100 hours in the colleges workshops including the plaster room and photographic studios to develop my own practice.
Exhibitions
Solo
2013
Greenwich Tourist Information Centre, London
Group
2008
2008
2007
2005
2005
2004
Cupboard Love, London
Part of an ongoing project using the hidden spaces in the cupboards of the lifts in Greenwich foot tunnel. Curated by Sue Cohen
Meltdown, NO:ID Gallery, London
Degree Show, University of Westminster, London
Schoolhouse Gallery, Morvah, Cornwall
Collection of mixed media and textile pieces. Curator Sue Dove
Threads in Time HND end of year show, Cornwall College
A collection of photo based mixed media pieces and collections of objects and with prints.
Browns, Penzance, Cornwall
Collection of mixed media and textile pieces by various artists. Curator Sue Dove.