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Charlotte Thomson-Morley

A photograph of the artist Charlotte Thomson-Morley

Fine Artist, Painter, Printmaker.

Based in Nottingham UK, Charlotte creates figurative art depicting fat bodies, exploring the intersection of fat politics, feminism, archaeology, history and animist connection with the land and nature. She draws inspiration from folklore, Paganims, mythology and archaeological finds. Working in paint, digital media and in both relief and intaglio printmaking methods, Charlotte is also interested in eco-art and paint-making using materials derived from nature.


Gallery


Of This Land

Created using handmade Iron Oak Gall Ink, made from oak galls foraged from pavements and school yards, a natural resource in an urban environment. An exploration of recreating one of the oldest known forms of ink and an exploration of connecting to the land and our environment through understanding of nature. The Green Man motif was over-printed in gold onto the painted oak gall ink background, symbolising our reverence for nature. The gold ink is oil based and therefore problematic to nature, the oak gall ink is derived from nature but will in time corrode the very artwork it was used to create making it ephemeral, reflecting our problematic relationship with our environment.


Goddess (At the Fitzwilliam)

A series of drypoint prints created in response to Goddess sculptures of different locations and historical provenance found on visiting the Fitzwilliam Gallery in Cambridge (UK).


Goddess – Plant Based Eco Pigment Series

This series is an exploration of paints created using natural plant and mineral based pigments. A technique of free-painting was utilised, where there is only a loose plan for the artworks allowing for free response to the media during the creation process. Loosely based on early European Goddess sculptures such as the Venus of Willendorf.


Deities – in Lino

An ongoing series of graphic representations of deities created in lino with gold highlights, printed in varying limited editions onto recycled card.


Wheel of the Year

A series of digital artworks corresponding to the Pagan Wheel of the Year. The Wheel follows the 4 seasonal equinoxes and solstices and encompasses four traditional Celtic festivals, this series is currently a work in progress. The timings are relevant in the Northern Hemisphere and it was first laid out in this manner by Jacob Grimm and cemented in this format by the Wicca movement in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Stylistically these pieces are inspired by 1960’s psychedelic art and screen-printed poster art and contain references to each festivals traditions, origins and symbology.


Seasons

This series of digital paintings takes from the tradition of female archetypes representing nature but flips the narrative by depicting body types that don’t traditionally feature as objects for the male gaze in Western art traditions such as Art Nouveau. The floral motifs feature seasonal plants and are inspired by Germanic folk art.


Monsters Within

A series of digital artworks inspired by Horror movie archetypes, celebrating fat bodies and giving the subjects erotic agency over their own symbolic title.


Projects in development

ICON – a series of combined intaglio (Re-used Tetra pack) and lino prints, based on reconstructed Neo-Pagan Goddesses and inspired by Catholic icon paintings.

LOCAL GODS – an exploration of East Midlands based, pre-Roman deities and sacred sites.

HENGE – a mixed media assemblage, drawing and printmaking project using archive material of Bingham Henge, a hidden archaeological site in Nottinghamshire.

RESTING PLACE – a mixed media assemblage, drawing and printmaking project using archive material of an Anglo Saxon Burial Ground in Cotgrave, Nottinghamshire, now underneath a residential property.


Sirens – Digital and Printmaking

I have long held a fascination with mythological creatures and these two pieces explore the idea of Sirens and Selkies using elements of Art Nouveau to create flowing images. This project is ongoing in it’s development with hand-carved printmaking plates being developed from the digital drawings. These will become a series of limited edition lino cuts and intaglio prints.



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