Conversations en Plein Air

This project, realised during the Covid-19 pandemic, presented an analogy between French 18th century ‘Fêtes galantes’ paintings and Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe painted over a century later. It drew on the concept of the picnic as a shared outdoors activity which is a pertinent metaphor for our experience during the Covid-19 pandemic, where the changed relationship of the indoors as a claustrophobic, constraining space was alleviated by the limited time that one was permitted to be outdoors. Underlying the central motif of the picnic, Hodes’ subtext is of women making contact, endeavouring through various means, such as mobile phones, paper airplanes and megaphones to communicate with each other from afar. Depicted on tableware, vases and in papercuts, they appear marooned, each piece of ware like stepping stones that separate them from each other. Women picnic, gathering around checked tablecloths that appear as small islands or self-proclaimed states. Their desire and ability to partake in such seemingly informal gatherings is disrupted by their need to make contact beyond their immediate environment. The output consisted of ornate ceramic vases, a papercut frieze running 8m and an installation of imagery across over 150 pieces of readymade chinaware.

• Organisation
• Organisation