Uplift

Erin Hughes’s practice can be defined as craft within a contemporary art context. A contemporary take on the Arts and Crafts’ sentiment of creating objects that are made with love and reference the beauty of nature. The hand-made process helps Erin Hughes, and the viewers of her work, to build a direct relationship to the world around and promote a non-alienated, tactile approach to living. Hughes’s practice is her way of contributing towards the idea of making the world a better place and sees this mission paralleled within the values of Ben and Jerry‘s through their active history participating in many causes and grassroots movements.

The aesthetics of the work speaks to Ben and Jerry’s brand relationship towards ‘hippy’ culture, 60s vibes and their unique mix of ice cream flavours. For instance, the playfully titled ‘Cherry Garcia flavour ice-cream’ connects to the zany and trippy effects seen at Grateful Dead’s liquid visuals for their live shows, mirroring the marbling effects within Hughes’s work.

On her commission for Four Acres, Hughes states:

“I hope my work will encourage the viewer to look closer, engage in questions of the making process and in turn support conversations around the dignity with which things are made. I hope the work will be an asset to the Four Acres purpose of enabling a space for Unilever and partners’ wellbeing and mindfulness.”