Jane Hoodless

Lives and works in London, UK

Artist statement

Jane Hoodless is inspired by the criminal, the cultural and the curious. The thread that runs through her practice is the desire to know why people do what they do. Or more usually, did what they did. Inspired by surreal marriages of objects and ideas, storytelling, and uncommon aspects of social history; the materials and techniques she uses are largely determined by concept and frequently turned on their head, such as a weaving a wedding cake out of hair. This diversity of craft skills melded with the conceptual nature of her work forms the root of her practice of over two decades. Jane has exhibited extensively across the UK, in contemporary spaces: APT, Shoreditch Town Hall, BOM Birmingham as well as institutions: the Freud Museum, British Library, Guildhall Art Gallery (London), the Portico Library and the Courtauld Institute. She has won commissions from Spitalfields Development Trust and Northampton Museums, and devises and facilitates workshops, bespoke walking tours or practice-related talks in conjunction with her work. Currently developing 'Changing Room', a body of work that addresses some of the history and hysteria surrounding human menopause; Jane aims for her work to exist in an almost timeless space; where centuries of hopes and fears are probed, plundered and repackaged to challenge, comfort, provoke and inspire.

Artwork