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Jonathan Baldock: Facecrime

13 March - 01 November 2020

We were delighted to welcome back Jonathan Baldock, Freelands Foundation artist in residence at Bluecoat January 2018, for his solo exhibition, Facecrime.

A photograph showing Jonathan Baldock's exhibition Facecrime. The image shows a collection of sculptural works; multicoloured ceramic columns with different expressive faces on them.

The main installation contained a landscape of ceramic columns inspired by cuneiform-inscribed tablets - an early system of writing - dating from 2500BC. Baldock’s version presents an alternative history of clay as a tool of communication; his ceramic columns feature expressive faces, emoji symbols and make audible groans, whistles and chuckles through concealed speakers. The columns are also adorned with weaving, basketry and glass drawn from different eras of labour, folklore and storytelling like an archeological find from a parallel universe.

The exhibition title itself is inspired by Orwell’s dystopian novel, 1984 - a facecrime being an “unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself” suggesting that there was something to hide. Facecrime was commissioned by Camden Arts Centre through the Freelands Lomax Ceramics Fellowship.

Jonathan Baldock, Facecrime, solo exhibition, Camden Arts Centre, London,2019. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London. Photo: Luke Walker.

A photograph of a work by Jonathan Baldock. The piece is a dark blue ceramic face. The face has a orange beard and a shocked expression.
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Facecrime, Jonathan Baldock. Bluecoat Installation View (2020) Photos by Harry Meadley.
A close-up shot of a piece by Jonathan Baldock. The image shows a mound of blue rubble, populated by multicoloured disks with different emoji expressions on them.
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A close-up shot of a piece by Jonathan Baldock. The image shows a mound of blue rubble, with a pink ceramic arm protruding out of it, reaching for some ceramic fragments.
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A photograph showing Jonathan Baldock's exhibition Facecrime. The image shows a collection of sculptural works; multicoloured ceramic columns with different expressive faces on them. Some are standing upright while others are scattered on the gallery floor.
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Johnathan Baldock, Facecrime exhibition (2020)
A woman wearing a black top and grey trousers looks up at a brown, black and yellow sculpture. There are two people in the background who are also looking the artwork.
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Jonathan Baldock, Facecrime, Bluecoat exhibition launch, 2020, Brian Roberts
A photograph showing Jonathan Baldock's exhibition Facecrime. The image shows a visitor looking at a large ceramic sculpture, which is blue, pink and white.
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A photograph showing Jonathan Baldock's exhibition Facecrime. The image shows a visitor looking at a selection of works hanging on a wall. Each piece is a small vibrantly-coloured ceramic depiction of a face.
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Three people look up towards a large pink and white sculpture by Jonathan Baldock in Bluecoat's Gallery.
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More about the artist

Jonathan Baldock (b. 1980, Kent, UK) works across multiple platforms including sculpture, installation and performance. His work is saturated with humour and wit, as well as an uncanny, macabre quality that channels his longstanding interest in myth, folklore and the narratives associated with 'outsider' practices. Baldock graduated from Winchester School of Art with a BA in Painting (2000-2003), followed by the Royal College of Art, London with an MA in Painting (2003-2005).

In the spring of 2019, Baldock had a solo exhibition at Camden Arts Centre, London, which toured to Tramway, Glasgow in August 2019. He has a forthcoming solo exhibition at Kunsthall Stavanger, Norway opening in May 2020.

Other notable solo and two-person exhibitions include those at De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill (2017); The Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool (2017); Southwark Park Galleries, London (2017); PEER, London (2016); Chapter Gallery, Cardiff (2016); Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge (2013).

Baldock is represented by Stephen Friedman Gallery, London.

Click here to visit his website

Facecrime is commissioned by Camden Arts Centre with Tramway. The work was developed through the Freelands Lomax Ceramics Fellowship and is funded by the Freelands Foundation. The 2020 installation at Bluecoat is supported by the Henry Moore Foundation.