Eat What’s on Your Plate #2 (Complacency = Compliance), 2025

Alex Hodge   New & remarkable Artists

This contemporary sculpture reinterprets traditional ceramic forms. A classic plate becomes a canvas for social commentary. Rich blue floral patterns evoke historical porcelain traditions. These delicate vines swirl across a pale surface. Bold red lettering disrupts the harmony. The words complacency and compliance wrap around the center. This contrast creates a sudden tension. The calligraphy feels urgent and confrontational. It cuts through the ornamental beauty. Each letter pushes against the decorative boundary. The choice of red signals a warning or a visceral emotion. It transforms a domestic object into a vehicle for critical thought. The artist blends mastery of heritage techniques with a feminist perspective. The surface serves as a site of conflict between tradition and modern identity. This artwork questions the role of silence and submission. It invites a reflection on societal expectations. The piece concludes with a stark visual dialogue between floral grace and textual demand.

(Complacency = Compliance) This plate parallels the format of the Silence = Death plate, to further highlight the responsibility that every single person has to take action against a fascist regime, or risk being a willing part of its war machine. 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. Alex Hodge is an artist-ceramist primarily interested in creating work that juxtaposes the canon of Western art with the lived experiences of contemporary women. As a queer woman growing up in the rural south, she became familiar with the feeling of being on the periphery, spending her youth wandering the woods, collecting material for small sculptures and creating stories for herself. 

Hand-built plate with sgraffito. From the Blurb series