Charlotte Bracegirdle

Untitled (for reference, The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus, Rubens)

2009, Acrylic on bought print, 28 x 30 cms £1,900

"Life is an individual experience, in which we become somebody for just a moment; to live and to enjoy our dreams, leaving inevitably a trace behind us."

My work is based around the subtle traces that we leave behind. When a person no longer occupies a space everything appears different, but visually nothing is altered. Everything looks, smells and feels as it was when that person was there. But the image is not the same despite evidence telling you that it is. The pictures become empty stages, deserted and uncanny – left only with hints of past activity.

When talking about the story behind the movie ‘Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind’, where people can have their memories erased, Pierre Bismuth comments: “What situations would arise as a result and how would you deal with those possibilities? For me, all activity – art, film etc – are traces that occupy space, even if you are only trying to do something simple. By erasing you are simply adding.”

I have always tried to understand death, our inexistence. What happens afterwards, is it an undramatic fadeout?

In this new collection of work I wanted to show the moment of falling, or floating after or just before death. Like the ‘Falling man’ of 9/11, it’s that moment of being alive and dead at the same time.

EXHIBITIONS / AWARDS

2009:

‘Swimming with Dolphins’, group show, Crimes Town Gallery, London.

Solo show, Medcalf gallery, London.

2008:

Award Beck’s Canvas winner 08.
Salon 08, Vine Space, London

‘Where once were people’, solo show, Madame Lillie’s gallery, London.
‘Walpurgisnacht’, group show at Crimes Town gallery, London.
‘What goes up must come down’, group show at Madame Lillie’s gallery, London.

2007:

Salon 07, Seven Seven gallery, London.
Shortlisted for New Contemporaries 07
Solo show: Madame Lillie’s gallery, London.

‘Death’ Exhibition, group show, Madame Lillie’s gallery, London.
2006:

The Empire Christmas Art Fair: The Empire gallery, Wadesdon St, London.

‘Arcade’, collaborative exhibition, Marble Arch, London

‘Silent but Violent’:, group show, The Empire Gallery, London
Award: The Davis Langdon Award Exhibition, Midcity Place, London

2005:

‘Short and sharp’, collaborative exhibition, Howie St, London.

Student Interim exhibition, The Royal College of Art.
2004:

‘A Sharp Intake of Breath’: Beldam Gallery, Contemporary Art West, Uxbridge.

The 39 Xmas tree, 39 Gallery, Mitchell street, London.
2001:

‘Animal Instincts’, collaborative exhibition, The Ashcroft Arts Centre, Hampshire.

2000:

Co-curated ‘The Dark Side of the Star Gallery’, Southampton.

‘One Night Stand’, collaborative exhibition, Dark Side of the Star gallery, Southampton.

Solo show: ‘What If?’, The Gantry Art Centre, Southampton.

The Hampshire Open: South Side Arts, St Mary’s Church, Southampton.

‘Visions of the Future’, The Millais Gallery, Southampton.

1998:

Solo show: ‘Broken Biscuits’, The Ashcroft Art Centre, Fareham, Hampshire.

Solo show: ‘Cabaret’ The Gantry Art Centre, Southampton.

1997:

Solo show: ‘Serendipity’, The Brompton Gallery, Southampton.

Selected exhibition: ’New Contemporaries’, The Gantry Art Centre, Southampton.

Solo show: ’The Loather Arcade’, The Hampshire Sculpture Trust, Winchester.

Joint exhibition: ’Useful’ The Hampshire Sculpture Trust, Winchester.

Joint exhibition: ’Useful’ The Millais Gallery, Southampton.

QUALIFICATIONS:

2004 - 2006: MA at Royal college of Art, London.
1994 - 1997: BA First Class Honours Fine Art: Southampton Institute.
1992 - 1994: Foundation Diploma in Art and Design: Bedford College, Bedfordshire.