2019

KATE LANGRISH SMITH “MODE METONYM” AND “EMBODY”

British designer Kate Langrish Smith founded her studio in 2009, focusing on the sculptural process and execution of mark-making. She is intrigued by the abstract concept of imprint and function. Her studio work seeks to express materiality, corporeality, and tactility in solid, tangible objects, while maintaining a synthesised, experiential memory of the performative aspects involved in the making process.
The aim of the collection “Mode Metonym” (2014) and its spin-off “Embody” (2017) was to explore the abstract notions of imprint and function and turn them into a solid, tangible object or artefact. Suggesting and illustrating the negative space created around a human body, the concept of “Mode Metonym” was meant as a response to the ever-changing boundaries and nature of both art and fashion. This area of slippage, where, as in this case, the ‘artefact’ becomes ‘wearable art’, and the object turns into a tactile invitation to touch and feel. 
The title “Mode Metonym” refers to a change of name related to a ‘mode’ - or a manner of acting, doing, or performing a task. It captures a corporeal exploration of what an artefact is, driven by a desire to raise a question and discuss the speculative nature of our society, particularly in how fashion and art are displayed, received, and coveted.

Kate Langrish Smith studied the innovative MA Fashion Artefact at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London, under Dai Rees and Naomi Filmer, graduating in 2014. She further pursued her interest in ceramics and polymers at the Haute École d'Art et de Design in Geneva, at the Centre for Experimentation and Realisation in Contemporary Ceramics. Moving between the concepts of fashion and art, her practice crosses the disciplines of contemporary fashion objects, ceramics, and sculpture. Based in Sheffield, she is an Associate Lecturer on the MA Design programme at Sheffield Hallam University. Her studio is at Yorkshire Art Space, where she participated in their Ceramics Starter Programme until 2020.