Subverting the decorative legacy of traditional blue and white pottery as symbols of elitism and consumerism, Eat What’s on Your Plate #1 (2025) is a compelling inaugural piece in Alex Hodge’s transformative ceramic series. Hand-built using the slab method and measuring 8x8 inches, this ceramic wall plate artwork layers an intricate cobalt blue lace pattern with brash red typography declaring "Silence = Death". The inscription directly recalls the iconic protest slogan coined by the Silence=Death Project during the Reagan-era AIDS epidemic and famously adopted by ACT UP to urge political action and support for the LGBTQ+ community. Combining underglaze painting, precise carving, and transfer techniques reminiscent of Barbara Kruger’s textual interventions, Hodge transforms fine tableware into a sharp instrument of historical critique and social consciousness.
(Silence = Death) This piece recalls a specific protest slogan coined by the Silence=Death Project, which was a coalition of six people working to raise awareness around the AIDS epidemic in the Reagan era. It was later adopted by the organization ACT UP, as a way to encourage people to take action to support the LGBT community and call on leaders to change policy surrounding the disease.
The Eat What's on Your Plate series is comprised of wall plates that draw on the history of blue and white pottery as symbols of wealth, elitism and consumerism. The plates beckon the viewer with brash red text reminiscent of Barbara Kruger’s work. The title phrase is a play on words in several capacities, directing the audience to deal with what is at hand, while simultaneously admonishing the act of taking from others. They are all hand built using the slab method, and utilize underglaze painting, carving and transfers.
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Ceramic Wall Plate Artwork - Eat What’s on Your Plate #1, 2025. By Alex Hodge
Eat What’s on Your Plate #1, 2025
From Blurb series
Hand-carved ceramic plate
Dimensions: 8 x 8 in.
Hodge studied and graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Ceramics, with notable exhibitions such as Unsung Muses and Eyes That Bind, graduating summa cum laude and receiving honors such as the Outstanding Undergraduate Award. Here, clay became the conduit that allowed her to speak of her experience and, more importantly, her frustrations. Always curious to acquire more knowledge and skills, she pursued a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Miami. There she obtained the summer scholarship and the William Oberman Award, and graduated summa cum laude. During this time, she moved from expressions of anger to prioritizing love between women, the deep well of internal feminine landscapes and the historical exploration of women in relation to the present through ceramic material. Since then, her works have been exhibited at the Morean Arts Center, Arts Benicia and the Imurj Gallery, among others. She currently resides in rural Georgia, where she transforms her stories into sculptures that reveal what has been historically hidden.
