Meet Charlie Calder-Potts

Here at Art on a Postcard we are honoured to have Charlie Calder-Potts as a contributing artist for our Art on a Ukulele project. Charlie is a British female artist based in Warwickshire, whose work focuses on the relationship between history, heritage and environment. Charlie's work echoes the Middle East; having travelled through much of Armenia, Turkey, Georgia and Arghanistan since her teenage years, her work explores the sense of 'the other' whilst dispelling the myths surrounding misleading war propaganda. 

http://www.charlie-calderpotts.com/

Studying at the British Institute in Florence and subsequently at St Andrews University in Scotland; Charlie graduated with an MA in 2008, and went on to exhibit her work worldwide; in exhibitions spanning London, New York and Dubai to name a few. Greatly influenced by her travelling experience, Charlie looks at the interaction between the 'outsider' and the cultural landscapes through which they move. 

http://www.charlie-calderpotts.com/

There is an often dark image of the Middle-East propelled through Western news channels as a war-torn wasteland. It is frequently shown to be an ideological battleground with a soullessness inflicted by years of political angst. Clearly, Charlie does not perceive this to be the case, and greatly portrays the cultural heart of the area; using inks, oils, waxes and pastels to display what she refers to as 'forgotten elements of the past, alongside the unseen/unnoticed present'.

Charlie uses a wide variety of mediums to exhibit her art; often combining photography, painting and drawing in mixed-media shows. Many of her works are produced across large scale sheets of aluminium, using wood panel and vellum paper to decoratively display the surroundings she frequented. This condensation of media reflects the mixed bag of themes in her work; the universal norms, innately human qualities and mundane everyday routines through which people from every culture can connect. 

http://www.charlie-calderpotts.com/

In her own words, her art is 'reportage' and 'documentary like'. An example of this is 'recording an anonymous individual going about their life whether that be commuting on the overground in Hackney or on the streets of Erbil in Iraq'. What is so special about her work is that it is created through a uniting and unbiased cultural lens. 

http://www.charlie-calderpotts.com/

Charlie is currently working on a project in collaboration with the British Arts Council based on her time in Iran. Previous projects include her official selection as an 'Official War Artist' with the British Army in Afghanistan 2013/2014. 

We are thrilled about her collaboration with the trust, and are so excited to see how Charlie Calder-Potts approaches our Art on a Ukulele project so please join us to find out more by signing up to our mailing list (at the bottom of the page) to receive updates about this project and to find out about our crowdfunding campaign, the rewards we are offering and be part of the process over the next few months. 

About the Writer

Claudia has written for various publications including GQ and LOVE magazine. She graduated from the University of Leeds in 2014 with a 2:1 Geography and has since gone on to pursue a career in fashion, and is a full time model with Storm London. A keen writer and fashion enthusiast; her secret project 'ClaudRobe' will be launching later this Summer.