Hammer to Shape, Mouth Open
Hammer to Shape, Mouth Open was a changing artwork that appeared on the MIRROR homepage - where artists were commissioned to make an image, icon, glyph, sigil or symbol of mouths and hammers.
Artists Conway & Young were commissioned to create a new artwork for the MIRROR website, as a way to disrupt and play with the formality of this space and to insert artists work and voices within the mainframe of the website.
Alongside creating two new artworks that take the form of gifs; Conway & Young were asked to write an ongoing, annual commission brief for students at Arts University Plymouth, where they will be invited to design their own mouths and hammers. The brief for students was launch in October 2021.
Conway & Young chose a mouth in reference to the origin of the place name Plymouth (mouth of the Plym) and a hammer in reference to the Bertolt Brecht quote “Art is not a mirror for reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.”
Charlotte Leadley
Charlotte Leadley is an illustrator from Cornwall. Her practice involves a personal creative agenda, that illustration can be used as a tool to ignite social change and reframe discussions on global issues.
She has developed an ongoing investigation into the theory of illustration as a universal language. Charlotte’s image making is defined by playful colour, shape and texture. She is inspired by connections between people and environments, drawing inspiration from observation and experience, as well as issues that she is passionate about.
'Instrument of Cosmic Potential' is a digital Illustration reflecting on themes of visual communication, speech and disruption in how they relate to image making. When you use your creative voice to speak your ideas into the world, the possibilities are endless. The mouth here is a symbolic portal, and in the act of opening, it releases energy and power into Space.
