Hannah Charlotte Mason

Art, writing and dressing up. Hannah Charlotte Mason (b.1998, Oxford) lives and works in London. She studied a BA in Fine Art: Painting, Drawing and Printmaking at Carmarthen School of Art. While studying in Wales Hannah felt confined by the traditional techniques she learned and branched out into analogue photography, writing and performance, mediums more suited to her concept driven, explorative practice.

After taking a year leave during the pandemic Hannah completed a one month residency at OVADA in Oxford during summer 2022 before returning to the RCA. This is where she began her practice of stream of consciousness writing every day which has greatly influenced her work since.

While at the RCA Hannah has performed multiple times including at Tate Modern during one of their 'Lates', has had her writing published in various places including The Pluralist, had her work exhibited at OVADA, Oxford, and has been part of the editing team for 'Glimpse', the CAP Publication 2023.

Hannah performing at Tate Modern, stood in front of a seated crowd, reading small pieces of paper and dropping them to the floor

Fuelled by questions about my ideas around ‘selvehood’, multiplicities within and where the ‘others’ wait to cycle into the now, I use stream of consciousness writing to capture spiralling narratives. These I then play with, perform and enter into, inviting my audience along with me. It is through this process that I ask the audience to embrace the dissonance, to engage with the unfamiliar and venture beyond the boundaries of a conventional understanding of the self.

Come and get stuck in a lift with me...

Embrace the chaos.

For the four day show at the Truman Brewery I will be doing a recurring performance, 'False Steps, False Starts, Fickle Feelings'. These mirrors will create an installation that I will enter three times each day to perform.

Medium:

Multiple 21x30cm mirrors with vinyl printed text

text

No Halo is a performance where the artist takes a piece of stream of consciousness writing, prints it multiple times, cuts it into small sections, shuffles it and then reads the fragments in quick succession, dropping each piece to the floor as she goes.

No Halo

Motion you can’t see you don’t know how long moved for you’ve now what and reached for the button prompt your release no halo no yield no ran or walked you can’t recall you pressed the cold stinging circular button stretching for the button the delight when again its greeted with a halo of light no halo no yield help what now stuck breath gone how the hell has this happened again I am having horrendous out of my reach shut up shut up shut up ok that did it breath caught your ears yes they work where is the burst of light escaping the opening doors motion you can’t see you don’t know how long it moved for but you’ve now any sound that would suggest motion you stomp your foot to check the function of happened here to you one moment you were overcome with such relief you didn’t but now what take stock of what happened it happened here and it you are on your way out an agonising wait heart out of place for a rumble clunk you are on your way out an agonising wait heart out of place for a rumble clunk you are on your way out an agonising wait heart out of place for a number clunk happened to you one moment you were overcome with such relief you didn’t been waiting longer than that the doors are yet to open you snap out of it and internally and possibly externally rejoiced as the downwards arrow sparked into light beneath your fingertip or was it your fist creating a halo for your flesh and scary de ja vu of this moment but no recollection at all of how I got myself out last motion you can’t see you don’t know how long it moved for but you’ve now halo no yield help what now such breath gone your ears yes they work where is the burst of light escaping the opening doors halo no yield help what now such breath gone question this very sudden appearance of an exit that had for so long eluded you you time my breath is running away I chase after it each grasp I make it lunges further and scary de ja vu of this moment but no recollection at all of how I got myself out last stretching for the button the delight when again its greeted with a halo of light and internally and possibly externally rejoiced as the downwards arrow sparked wait wait wait doors wait are wait shutting wait there we go your body sensing the and internally and possibly externally rejoiced as the downwards arrow sparked how the hell has this happened again I am having horrendous what and reach for the button to prompt your release no halo no yield no happened to you one moment you were overcome with such relief you didn’t question this very sudden appearance of an exit that had for so long eluded you you but now what take stock what happened it happened here and it time my breath is running away I chase after it each grasp I make it lunges further been waiting longer than that and the doors are yet to open to you to snap out of it and scary de ja vu of this moment but no recollection at all of how I got myself out last out of reach shut up shut up shut up ok that did it breath caught been waiting longer than that and the doors are yet to open you snap out of it you question this very sudden appearance of an exit that had for so long eluded you your ears yes they work where is it the burst of light escaping the opening doors to there it is your foot in the gap while the doors are still sliding your hand into the light beneath your fingertip or was it your fist creating a halo for your flesh wait wait wait doors wait are wait shutting wait there we go your body sensing that any sound that would suggest motion you stomp your foot to check the function of ran or walked you can’t recall you press the cold stinging circular button to there it is your foot in the gap while the doors are still sliding and your hand wait wait wait door wait are wait shutting wait there we go your body sensing the how the hell has this happened again I am having horrendous out of my reach shut up shut up shut up ok that did it breath caught into light beneath your fingertip or was it your fist creating a halo for your flesh to there it is your foot in the gap while the doors are still sliding your hand what and reach for the button to prompt your release no halo no yield no ran or walked you can’t recall you press the cold stinging circular button any sound that would suggest motion you stomp your foot to check the function of time my breath is running away I chase after it each grasp make it lunges further but now what take stock of what happened it happened here and it stretching for the button the delight when again its greeted with a halo of light.