ABOUT

Caz Hildebrand’s practice explores the material afterlives of industry, architecture and art, focusing on objects and spaces left behind when systems of production become obsolete.

Her studio is in The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, which ceased functioning in 1984, with the loss of 8,000 jobs. Working amongst the old buildings and redundant machinery has had a profound influence on her creative practice. Surrounded by the remnants of outmoded industries, material transformation becomes a way of listening, of attending to loss, and to the possibility, however tentative, of repair. In reworking the languages of industry, she seeks to open a space for reflection: on what we shape, what we inherit, and what, inevitably, we leave behind.

Working with clay and glass, Caz uses various techniques and processes including slab-building, press moulding, slip casting, and kiln casting glass. She also works with metal, plaster and stone. These materials have powerful associations for her, embodying both transience and longevity.

Caz’s approach is informed by her previous career as a graphic designer and that discipline has influenced her work as an artist. After working for publishers designing books, Caz founded a design studio specialising in packaging and branding and published her own books. After a career creating to order for clients, she chose to study Ceramics & Glass at the Royal College of Art (MA), graduating in 2022. Since then, her work has been shown in exhibitions and biennials in the UK, Europe and China. Her works have been purchased by private collectors in the UK and abroad.