Pattern Portraits

Lauren Godfrey chats with art historian and curator Dr Zoé Whitley about pattern as rebellion, making clothes with her grandmother and channelling her favourite musicians through patterns.Zoé is director of the well loved Chisenhale Gallery, a gem in the London gallery scene as a space that champions creativity and helps facilitate artists making new work on a grand scale. Before joining Chisenhale in 2020, she worked on exhibitions, research and collections at The Hayward, The V and A, and the TATE where she co curated the exhibition Soul of A Nation: Art In The Age of Black Power which went on to tour internationally. She also curated Cathy Wilkes’ presentation at the 2019 British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and was a Turner Prize judge in 2021. Zoe undertook a Masters in History of Design at the Royal College of Art alongside the V and A, focusing on representations of Blackness in Vogue Magazine in the UK, US and France.Zoé has chosen a veritable feast of pattern including striped sweatpants from Erykah Badu’s world market, a Vlisco Dutch Wax hall of fame, A Stella Jean dress with typewriters all over it, a floral Versace monogram silk, a Moroccan Boucheruite rug and a Viviers Studio ostrich claw napkin! You can see all of Zoé’s patterns and more on instagram @patternportraitspodcast‘Caszh With Zhuzh’ - The PATTERN PORTRAIT print artwork to accompany Zoé’s interview and featuring the patterns we discuss is available to buy now at www.laurengodfrey.co.ukReferences:Badu world marketGetty internshipKaye Spilker / Sharon Takeda - Curator / Head of Costume at Textiles at LACMARudi Gernreich Pubikini 1985Claire McCardellGilbert AdrianTom Ford Gucci jeansVlisco - dutch waxCauleen SmithYinka Shonibare - Dysfunctional Family (1999) / Sir Foster Cunliffe, Playing (2007)Njideka Akunyili CrosbyStella JeanNAFADLisa Left Eye Lopes - Hat 2 Da BackHouse Party - Kid n play pool ball pyjamasLisanne ViviersAnthea Hamilton Loewe wallpaper

Welcome to Episode 11 of Pattern Portraits! Lauren Godfrey chats with artist and filmmaker Michelle Williams Gamaker about costume as a nonverbal communicator in film, pattern stopping her in her tracks and the double echo of intergenerational clothes swapping. Michelle is an artist known for her ambitious films that enact fictional revenge, placing marginalised voices at the centre of the narrative. Her epic film work ‘Theives’ was presented at South London Gallery in 2023, Dundee Contemporary Arts and Bluecoat in Liverpool in 2024. Michelle’s work responds to films watched during childhood, unpacked and seen anew over time, which raise important conversations about race, representation, identity and agency. Michelle’s work has won many awards including jointly winning the Jarman Award in 2020. Pattern and colour are intrinsic in her world from costumes and sets to the clothes Michelle wears herself. A pair of her striped boots have even been immortalised in the work of another artist, Madeline Pledge who I am also interviewing this season! Michelle has chosen some very special patterns, a polkadot and houndstooth from C&A passed down from her mum, a Kantha quilt kimono and Shalwar kameez adapted for wearing at her exhibition opening, a satin dress thrifted in Amsterdam and my personal favourite, an epic Paisley crossed with tiger print shirt by Pencaldi and B!You can see all of Michelle's patterns and more on instagram @patternportraitspodcastThe PATTERN PORTRAIT print artwork to accompany Michelle’s interview and featuring the patterns we discuss is available to buy now at www.laurengodfrey.co.ukhttps://www.instagram.com/m.williams.gamaker/References: Thief of Baghdad 1940 - produced by Alexander Korda and directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger and Tim Whelan, with additional contributions by William Cameron Menzies and Korda brothers Vincent and Zoltán.The Thief of Bagdad 1924 - directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Douglas Fairbanks. Anna May WongSabu

Welcome to Season 2 of PATTERN PORTRAITS! In this first episode of the new season, Lauren Godfrey chats with curator, writer and broadcaster, Amber Butchart about the power of souvenirs, the compulsory nature of leopard print and the joys of London Transport seating fabric!You’ll probably know Amber from her very special TV series A Stitch In Time in which Amber explores the lives of historical figures through the clothes they wore, or perhaps for her regular appearances as the fashion historian on The Great British Sewing Bee! She is unmissable with impeccable dress sense and an iconic red bob, usually topped off with a colourful turban.Amber has chosen patterns from many different sources, from 1960’s Anaglypta wallpaper, an Uzbek Ikat tunic bought in Istanbul, a leopard print carpet, a bespoke leopard print featuring her own silhouette by her partner Rob Flowers, a bedsheet from the Chinese Cultural revolution and a London Transport moquette from the London Country Buses.Amber hosts her own podcast ‘Cloth Cultures’ for The British Textile Biennial which is a beautiful exploration of movement, migration and making through cloth. Her stunning exhibition ‘The Fabric of Democracy’ was at The Fashion and Textiles Museum in London earlier in 2024, exploring printed propaganda textiles over more than two centuries. It was a truly remarkable show really driving home the idea of pattern and fabric as codes and communicators - if ever we were in doubt about the power of pattern, this show dispelled it!You can see all of Amber’s patterns and more on instagram @patternportraitspodcastThe PATTERN PORTRAIT print artwork to accompany Amber’s interview and featuring the patterns we discuss is available to buy now at www.laurengodfrey.co.ukReferences / Links:Bar américain at Zedel, London Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood director of the Textile Research Centre in Leiden Enid Marx- mentioned in relation to the London Transport Moquettes Lauren Elkin article about textiles Josef frank - Italian dinner

Season 2 of Pattern Portraits is coming soon! I’m Lauren Godfrey and each week I chat with fellow pattern lovers about a few of the patterns special to them. Each guest picks a handful of their favourite patterns and these open up conversation about the their wider world of work and life and lead us down avenues of tartan and passageways of paisley with a little diversion in a floral forest! Because it’s such a visual feast in an audible format, I’ve made prints to accompany each episode, a kind of undulating landscape of pattern on pattern, capturing the guests personality through the patterns they choose. You can buy the prints through my website, www.laurengodfrey.co.uk and this is a great way to support the podcast too if you’d like to hear more! You can also follow @patternportraitspodcast on instagram to see the patterns we discuss and clips from the interviews. This season is full of juicy nuggets of wisdom from some amazing pattern addicts, I hope you enjoy joining me on an odyssey of pattern as this season unfurls!Season 2 of Pattern Portraits, coming soon! With clips from interviews with Amber Butchart and Zoé Whitley, music by Alex Brenchley

Welcome to this Bonus Episode of PATTERN PORTRAITS in collaboration with MIMA!Lauren Godfrey chats with artist Jacqueline Poncelet on the occasion of her exhibition ‘In The Making’ at MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art.We chat about intelligent risk taking, the importance of travel for Jacqui and the visual beefy soup of the world around us!Artist Jacqueline Poncelet graduated from an MA in ceramics from The Royal College of Art in 1972 and garnered a broad following in the international ceramics scene in the 70s and 80s, Jacqueline is an artist whose career spans 50 years and now explores ceramics, painting, sculpture and textiles as well as large scale public commissions. Her work varies from tiny and hand held to vast in scale, wrapping Edgware Road Underground station in a symphony of patterned vitreous enamel in 2012.Pattern is at the crux of all she makes, whether it’s subtly impressed into bone china forms, spliced together in carpet swatches covering the floor, or woven into tactile blankets depicting the seasonal colour shifts of the hills of South Wales.This episode of Pattern Portraits is in collaboration with MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art which is part of the School of Arts & Creative Industries at Teesside University. Jacqueline Poncelet’s solo exhibition ‘In The Making’ is on view there until 23rd June 2024. I highly recommend a visit, this stunning show envelops the breadth of Jacqueline’s practice over the past 50 years. Taking a thematic approach, it presents new reflections on work from different eras of Poncelet’s practice. This exhibition is her largest to date and is supported by Freelands Foundation and The Henry Moore Foundation. MIMA and Jacqui won the prestigious Freelands Award in 2021 which recognises the work of a midcareer woman artist who has not yet received the acclaim their work deserves.I urge you to go and see the show and you will be rewarded with a feast of pattern!Jacqui has chosen patterns across many forms, a painting - Edouard Vuillard, Interior, Mother and Sister of the Artist, 1893, a ceramic platter by Janice Tchalenko, a Japanese Kimono acquired whilst in Tokyo and a Welsh coat.You can see all these patterns and more on instagram @patternportraitspodcastThe PATTERN PORTRAIT print artwork to accompany Jacqui’s interview and featuring the patterns we discuss is available to buy now at www.laurengodfrey.co.uk and via the MIMA shop.Season Two will be coming soon, follow @patternportraitspodcast to stay in the loop!

Welcome to Episode Eight of PATTERN PORTRAITS!Lauren Godfrey chats with broadcaster and presenter Gemma Cairney about the eroticism of everyday life, pattern as code and living instinctively. Gemma is best known for her work with BBC radio, and a myriad of TV appearances from hosting Glastonbury for the BBC to presenting the public art competition show, Landmark for Sky Arts. Gemma is a published author with another book coming out imminently called The Immortal Sisterhood. Gemma is deeply and passionately involved in the art world, she is on the board of Jupiter Art Land Foundation and the Edinburgh Art Festival helping steer the ship of exciting art in Scotland and beyond. Gemma has a truly joyful approach to dressing, always appearing in fabulously playful patterns and colours, often sourced from independent designers and sustainable brands. I’ve long admired her buoyant presence on my screen and in my ears so it’s my absolute pleasure to chat pattern, colour and life with her! Gemma has chosen patterns on garments including a dress from a roadside stall in Ghana, a handmade cotton scarf from Ethiopia, a vintage 1980’s dress, a selection of crochet items - a bikini from Jamaica and a top and pouch made by Katie Jones, and a sarong bought from the New York City Opera thrift shop. You can see all these patterns and more on instagram @patternportraitspodcastThe PATTERN PORTRAIT print artwork to accompany Gemma’s interview and featuring the patterns we discuss is available to buy now at www.laurengodfrey.co.ukThere will be an exhibition of the artworks soon to be announced!This is the final episode of Season One but Season Two will be coming soon, follow @patternportraitspodcast to stay in the loop!Other things we discuss:Gemma’s first book - Open, A Toolkit for How Magic and Messed Up Life Can Be The Sound Odyssey for Radio 4 Some of the 12 women that feature in Gemma’s forthcoming book The Immortal Sisterhood - Pharaoh Hatshepsut, Betty Davis, Pamela Coleman Smith, Audre Lorde and Grace Jones.

Welcome to Episode Seven of PATTERN PORTRAITS!Lauren Godfrey chats with artist and designer Hannah Sabapathy about patterns as a key to other histories, the jewel-like colours of her Grandma’s saris and collaging as a process of creating conversations. Hannah Sabapathy is based in Dundee in Scotland and leads Studio Plica, a studio that explores colour, materials and the politics of pattern. She makes beautiful things, tender, intricate, and precise, peppered with pattern and with a seductive tactility from jewellery to furniture and soon to be large scale enamel panels. All drawing from patterns and their rich and complex heritage. Hannah is a currently part of the first cohort of 20/20, an initiative by University of the Arts London to support the careers of a new generation of diverse artists. Hannah is exploring the archive at The Harris Museum in Preston and looking at de-colonising and unpacking the patterned textiles in their collection.Hannah has chosen a stunning selection of patterns some from her home and family and some from the collections she’s been exploring. Including a ‘Mushroo’ fabric from Hyderabad, a 1930’s quilt from her mum’s collection, one of her Grandma’s silk saris, Kolams drawn by her Grandma, an endpaper from a Mark Pawson book, a Japanese Lacquerware tray and a fan from 1885 in the Harris Collection. Images of all these patterns will be posted on @patternportraitspodcast instagram. The PATTERN PORTRAIT print artwork to accompany Hannah’s interview and featuring the patterns we discuss is available to buy now at www.laurengodfrey.co.ukThere will be an exhibition of the artworks soon to be announced!Follow @patternportraitspodcast to stay in the loop!New episodes out each Wednesday!

Welcome to Episode Six of PATTERN PORTRAITS!Lauren Godfrey chats with designer and business owner Karen Mabon about delving into the Barbie archive, the aesthetics of Grease 2 and the complexities of owning an eponymous brand. Karen makes pyjamas, scarves, swimwear and more in the most joyful, playful patterns of your dreams! Think tamagotchis, cats in pumpkin costumes and ski bunnies, foxes scavenging in bins and chocolate factories to rival Willy Wonka! If you can dream it, she’s done it… Even if you can’t dream it she’s done it! Karen has collaborated with cultural icons from Agatha Christie to the Queen, and most recently, our true Queen, Barbie!! Her clothes and accessories have been worn by celebrities world wide including Jessica Alba, Selma Blair and Anna from Frozen herself, Kristen Bell! Full disclosure - I’m supremely lucky to be able to call Karen one of my best friends, I’ve been there for the highs and lows from the late night trade shows to the thrills of movie premiers, we even collaborated on a pop up swimwear shop in Lisbon a few years ago. I’m excited to finally be able to ask her the hard-hitting pattern based questions on everybody’s lips! Karen has chosen patterns on garments by Petit Bateau, Burberry and her own brand, Karen Mabon. The PATTERN PORTRAIT print artwork to accompany Karen’s interview and featuring the patterns we discuss is available to buy now at www.laurengodfrey.co.ukThere will be an exhibition of the artworks soon to be announced!Follow @patternportraitspodcast to stay in the loop!New episodes out each Wednesday!

Welcome to Episode Five of PATTERN PORTRAITS!Lauren Godfrey chats with stylist Dr Manrutt Wongkaew about the power of education, dressing as therapy and turning up the dimmer switch on your own light. Manrutt is a stylist, art director and choreographer as well as a senior lecturer at London College of Fashion. His approach to colour and pattern is truly admirable, you think you’ve seen pattern on pattern, this is pattern on pattern on pattern to the power of 10! His patterns are playful, fun and warm, oozing generosity and magnetism, inviting conversations and connections through his creativity. Manrutt has also worked in art therapy, with a great understanding of how creativity is linked to our wellbeing. So I’m thrilled to have him on the podcast to talk about all things pattern and joy! Manrutt has chosen patterns on garments by Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Cuscus the cuckoos, Pleats Please Issey Miyake, Lazy Oaf x Laura Callghan, Marni x Uniqlo, Raf Simons customised by Catrin Williams and an item from Bangkok weekend market. We also talk about how Manny is a member of Survivors UK and works with Loving Men. He references Edda Gimnes as his ‘pattern that got away’. The PATTERN PORTRAIT print artwork to accompany Manrutt’s interview and featuring the patterns we discuss is available to buy now at www.laurengodfrey.co.ukThere will be an exhibition of the artworks soon to be announced!Follow @patternportraitspodcast to stay in the loop!New episodes out each Wednesday!