Join us for a conversation with artist Holly Hendry in the Production Space workshops at STEAMhouse.
Building from a simple invitation to think through what making means to her, Holly will use the mould and the cast as a springboard to talk about other things through the idea of the copy, replication, messy material thinking, making through doing, and problem solving.
To cast off means to get rid of something - to throw away, replace or shed. The sculptural mould is a skin used to create another object, but can also be a sculptural form in itself which speaks of outsides and insides, reproduction and traces of other objects. Holly will explore different ways of mould-making, shape making and casting, how they relate to the ways we have made things and interacted with objects in the past, and how they can help us think through material approaches in the future.
About Holly
Holly Hendry’s site-responsive sculptures and installations are concerned with what lives beneath the surface, from hidden underground spaces to the interior workings of the body. Casting is central to the artist’s process in which she uses an array of materials, including steel, glass, Jesmonite, silicone, ash, lipstick, soap, foam, marble, aluminium and grit.
Hendry’s allusion to the skin as the visible ‘container’ of the body is combined with cartoon-like illustrations of anatomy, food and detritus. The artist’s projects often directly reference scientific research. Through collaboration with scientists and by conducting her own experimentation, Hendry engages with subjects such as material re-use and how the skin functions as both a barrier and a material that facilitates connection.
The artist’s first solo show in the USA opened at SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia in February 2024. Also in February, a new commission was installed at Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre in London for the group exhibition, ‘When Forms Come Alive’. A public work commissioned by theCoLAB was installed at the Artist’s Garden, Temple, London in July 2023. Other recent public sculptures include ‘Lip-sync’, STEAMhouse, Birmingham, commissioned by Eastside Projects in partnership with Birmingham City University (2023) and ‘Sump’, Esch2022 European Capital of Culture, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg (2022).
Find more about Holly HERE
About STEAMhouse
STEAMhouse is a five-story, purpose-built STEAM complex in central Birmingham with state-of-the-art facilities including well equipped Production Space workshops which support traditional and digital making in a wide range of materials including wood, metal and biomaterials.
They deliver a range of activities and programmes which give access to the Production Space Workshops and technical support including Maker Memberships which start at just £50 a month and STEAMhouse Forward – a fully-funded programme through which eligible businesses and sole traders based in Birmingham & Solihull can benefit from 20 hours of free access to the facilities alongside business support.
