Think of all the things you can do with your kiln!

‘I burned all my relationships in the kiln’

Lindsey Mendick’s courageous, confessional ceramics

Lindsey Mendick is a British ceramic artist known for her darkly humorous, autobiographical installations that blend sculpture, storytelling, and social critique. Her work reclaims ceramics—a medium often dismissed as craft—by using it to explore female experience, domesticity, and mental health. In The Guardian article, Mendick’s new show at Carl Freedman Gallery in Margate is profiled, highlighting her installation “Are You Going to Destroy Me?”, a theatrical recreation of her teenage bedroom. The immersive piece is filled with ceramic objects and diary-like references to adolescence, obsession, and anxiety, using pop culture icons like Robbie Williams and Buffy the Vampire Slayer as emotional anchors.

The article discusses how Mendick confronts shame, body image, and the expectations placed on women through unapologetically personal and messy narratives. Her work channels vulnerability into strength, often collaborating with other female artists to deepen these themes. By turning everyday scenes and private struggles into grotesquely playful tableaux, she offers an unfiltered view of contemporary womanhood. Mendick’s art challenges hierarchies in both medium and subject matter, positioning her as a major voice in contemporary British art who is reshaping perceptions of ceramics and female storytelling.