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CASILDART INTERVIEW WITH LOUISE HERCULES

In this edition of the CasildART blog we speak to artist and sculptor Louise Hercules. Topics discussed include her introduction to her practice, her working style and ethos, experience as a black female artist operating in the contemporary art world and finally her plans and visions for the future.

1. Could you start by telling us a little bit about your practice?

As a multi-disciplinary artist, my practice is rooted in the craft of storytelling through the mediums of three-dimensional sculptures and literature. My central narrative is focussed on the capabilities of our physical bodies and our psychological make-up, as we navigate illness, ageing, pleasure and pain.

So, whether I’m discussing themes via my poetry and essays, or constructing a textile or ceramic sculpture, I attempt to engage with my audience by highlighting subject matters that affect marginalised voices such as those of Black and Global Majority women, because our voices are often unheard. 

Louise Hercules, ‘Chloratica’, ceramic (stoneware), 22x48x22cm

As part of my research process, I often gather data about this demographic and I also draw on my own experience before I actively start making an artwork, which will often broach uncomfortable subjects like female reproductive health. Subjects that are riddled in mystery and shame. For example, I have fibroids, a medical condition where benign tumours grow in and around my uterus. It’s a debilitating condition that affects one in five women overall, with about 35% of Black women and about 21% of Asian women being affected the most, compared with about 10% of white women (2023 data). Medical professionals still do not know why women develop fibroids or why Black and Asian women are disproportionality affected compared to our white peers.

As a response, I have created a series of work that discusses this issue, these include – poems, essays, illustrations, ceramic and fabric sculptures. Amongst others, the two sculptures that are included in the BGM fair; ‘Chlorotica’ and ‘Bloom’, are conceptual pieces illustrating the fluid movement of how scar tissue moves as it heals post-surgery.

Louise Hercules, ‘Bloom’, ceramic (stoneware), 22x48x13cm

2. What inspired you to become an artist?

I’ve always been a curious person who likes to know how things work and why. How they were built and how to dismantle them. When I was about five years old in the 1980’s, my mother gave me a white doll to play with. I didn’t understand why as I couldn’t relate to it – it didn’t look like me and it didn’t stimulate my creative imagination. What really sparked my interest was when my father, who was an engineer, gave me a circuit board of a radio that he had taken apart and gave it to me to play with. It was extraordinary! The complexity of the colourful wires and pins overlapping each other kept me engaged for hours. That says a lot about my character!

A few years later, I saw my first sculpture by the artist, Henry Moore, which was situated in the Brandon Estate in Kennington, South London near where we lived. The bronze cast of ‘Two Piece Reclining Figure No.3’, is a huge, ominous sculpture, perched on a hill in the middle of the block of flats that dominates the space like a megalith. It was monumental and I remember being a little bit scared of its wired abstracted figure, but ultimately utterly excited by it. Every time we passed it to go shopping, I would ask a lot of questions like; “Why doesn’t the person look real?”, “What does it mean?” etc. The form told a different story every time I saw it – I engaged with it. I knew from that point that I would attempt to create my own stories through art someday.

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Henry Moore, ‘two piece reclining figure no3’, bronze, 239cm, Brandon Estate, Kennington

3. What impact do you want your art to have on its audience?

The whole process of making my work is a place where I can play, explore and sometimes heal through cathartic meditation.  It’s a slow, mindful conversation that I have with the material from conception to full execution, a dialogue that I extend to my audience. We all live very fast-paced lives, so I invite my viewers to slow down, breath and spend time just looking at the pieces. I make textured and colourful conceptual work that suggests the presence of life, and/or the absence of it. I hope that viewers can take a moment to connect with it so that they can find a story that relates to them every time that look at the work. Or they simply enjoy it for a fleeting moment (or not) when the encounter it.

I also hope that my work inspires people of all ages to understand that art is for them too so that they visit more galleries, attend more events and even, to create their own work. Creating art is so rewarding and everybody has a story that deserves to be shared.

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Louise Hercules, Bloom, ceramic (stoneware), ceramic 22x43x11cm

4. What drew you to CasildART and how do you see yourself aligning with its goals?

I was drawn to taking part in CasildART’s BGM fair because, they’re one of the very few galleries in the UK that represents Black and Global Majority artists, and the fair was a unique opportunity to connect with my other Black and Global Majority peers working in the same arena. There are a vast number of non-white artists in the UK and across the globe who are not represented, so this unprecedented event not only gave us the platform to showcase some of our talent, but it was also an invitation to all communities to enjoy or buy our work, especially people from Black and Global Majority communities. I’m very open to continuing to work with CasildART moving forward as I would like to become part of its growing network.

5. What to is the most crucial impact of the fair and do you think CasildART has been successful in achieving this?

The BGM was successful in bringing together a variety of emerging and established Black and Global Majority artists to showcase our work in a prestigious central London gallery. The show also invited a diverse audience or art lovers and collectors to attend this inaugural show.

Image credit: @ellehercules

6. If you could dream up a world, what would it look like?

My dream world would be a place where we looked after our elderly by giving thanks to their contribution to building our society, free healthcare and affordable housing would be available to those in need, and governments around the world would actively support the cultivation of the arts. 

I’m currently working towards becoming a full-time artist who doesn’t need to maintain a full-time corporate job to support myself on my journey so, in my dream world, I’d be a working artist who is working in collaboration with art organisations that encourage people from Black and Global majority backgrounds to participate in the arts and sciences, as practitioners and as active audience members. 

To see Louise’s work go to @ellehercules