In this episode of NeedleXChange I interview Robert John Hodge.

Robert John Hodge makes cross-stitch work based on Renaissance sculptures, using a CMYK / screenprint-style layering approach and recurring Wingdings symbols.

In this half we jump into Robert’s newer series - smaller, quicker pieces that work like little stitched collages: videogames, screenshots, photos, culture… and, for reasons we absolutely get into, a whole run of nuclear weapons tests.

Part 2 is where we widen out into the stuff that feeds the work: horror films from the 70s and 80s, documentaries that stitch history into a continuum, Kate Bush and Wagner, and even T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land as a kind of cultural collage blueprint.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:30 – Cross stitch as a serious art medium

00:05:44 – Challenging the “serious art” prejudice

00:07:50 – Balancing making work and making money

00:09:02 – Art-world reality: logistics + day job

00:11:22 – Film influences + nostalgia threads

00:18:16 – A wide media diet (and why it matters)

00:24:53 – Literary influences: T.S. Eliot and collage thinking

00:26:52 – Looping + obsession as the creative engine

Links:

Website: robertjohnhodge.com

Instagram: robertjohnhodge

Intro music is Cotton Candy by Cospe via Epidemic Sound.

About NeedleXChange:

NeedleXChange is a conversation podcast with embroidery and textile artists, exploring their process and practice.

Hosted by Jamie "Mr X Stitch" Chalmers, it is an in-depth showcase of the best needlework artists on the planet.

Visit the NeedleXChange website: needl.exchange

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