Lottie Hampson

We are excited to now have drawings by Lottie Hampson (b. 1993, London, England) at TPE. Hampson's artistic practice spans photography, drawing, food and ceramics, but often starts with analogue film photography. Using film helps her to slow down, and the images she takes are often a quiet meditation on her surroundings, slowly building a sense of place through observations of light and landscapes, interiors and objects, and fragments of the people that inhabit these places. She created for TPE a series of drawings done in charcoal and crayon on paper, that are focused on the small joys of daily rituals, and spoke with us more below.

Hi Lottie, where are you currently ? 

Hi Lauren! At the moment I am living in a cottage in Dorset on the south-west coast of England. I’m spending a month here making work and taking photos and exploring. 

You were living between the UK and Mallorca prior to that ? 

Actually at the moment I am mainly based in the UK after leaving Mallorca a few months ago. I was there on and off for a little over a year helping to run the artist residency program at Casa Balandra. I was working for Villa Lena in Tuscany when I met Clau, who went on to set up Casa Balandra. When she wanted to run her first artist residency she invited me to come as an artist alongside helping to set up the residency. I couldn’t have wished for a more exciting opportunity coming off the back of that first long lockdown!

I left because I was craving the routine that being grounded in one place provides. I wanted to settle a bit more, so I returned home to London. But as you’ve probably worked out, I haven't lasted very long… after only a few months I felt restless and wanted to try living in the countryside again. Hence my current seaside setup in Dorset! 

What is typical day like for you, your daily rituals ? 

Well, I’ll run you through a typical day in Dorset because my rituals change with each place that I live. Here I’ll wake up with my boyfriend and we do the Wordle with a cup of tea in bed, and then get outside. Maybe a cycle down to the sea and if it’s not too rough a dip in the sea! Followed by coffee, some admin (more than I would like usually), and then I’ll work on some ideas for projects. The pace of life is slower here and I made a lot of work last month in my London studio, so I am having a break to spend some more time researching and thinking and writing and cooking and just being. I find this time off is important in the lead up to creating new work. 

What in your days remains a constant no matter where you are ? 

I would say my constants are coffee, cooking and moving my body daily is important to me. I like to run. 

What items do you always like to have close by ? 

A cup of tea! I also snack pretty consistently throughout the day. And my diary so I can write things down or make little sketches. 

When observing a place or your surroundings, what usually jumps out at you first ? 

I’m a photographer initially so the quality of the light is always important. I like to work in natural light always. My eyes are drawn to soft and natural elements rather than sharp objects or bright colours. 

You work in photography, drawing, and ceramics, (and anything else)? Can you tell us a bit about your process when creating the works for TPE ? 

Yes! I’m a very indecisive person and I’m always switching up how I’m working. Recently I have been in a printmaking studio making etchings and this week I am thinking about painting furniture… but photography and drawing is always a constant. 

I loved making these works for TPE! I went through a phase of making drawings and paintings with a lot of colour, but I found that I started to crave simplicity.I’ve always loved working with charcoal so I sourced some lovely natural looking paper in Mallorca and started creating simple line drawings of the bowls of fruit that I had lying around. There was always beautiful produce lying around the house in Mallorca. After that I tried the same style but with white crayons.

The kitchen table is generally at the center of my world. I love cooking and eating so I sketch what’s on the table a lot. This series of drawings for TPE came from those after dinner sketches. 

What is generally on your table at home ? 

A candlestick! I love eating breakfast, lunch and dinner by candlelight.
And at the moment lots of daffodils of all varieties - they’re everywhere at the moment and I love them, both for how they look and what they represent; spring and hopeful warmer days.