NO.4 RACHAEL COCKER & ALI HEWSON: Up Our Street - 8 Holland Street's neighbours, near and far

FOR THIS DECEMBER EDITION OF UP OUR STREET, WE ARE CELEBRATING FRIENDSHIP (WHILST BEING JOLLY...CAREFUL) BY EXPLORING THE LIVES OF ARTISTS RACHAEL COCKER AND ALI HEWSON…

As people and ceramicists, Rachael Cocker is polished where Ali Hewson is honed. This is apparent in their ceramics, and in their studios, as we discovered on a trip to Norfolk.

The trip was prompted by seeing on Instagram during lockdown that the artists were friends and delivered handmade baked goods to each-other; perfect, wholesome packages left on doorsteps. We were intrigued whether their well Instagrammed ‘artist residing in rural setting’ lives in reality had takeaway Hawaiian pizza tucked in the recycling, and Saturday night telly on record, and polyester jumpers in hidden cupboards. Spoiler: absolutely everything is as authentic and beautiful as it seems.

Rachael’s studio is in Great Yarmouth, in a 17th century house owned by Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. To get to Rachael’s one climbs a very narrow, dark, winding stairway but emerges at the top of the building into a bright studio space. There is such a natural lightness of touch to her space and work, with flowers arranged, hand-made cushions, Facebook marketplace furniture and floral illustrations peppering the otherwise white walls. Even her buckets storing her materials are labelled in calligraphic handwriting. It’s all so goddam appealing. But Rachael is not floating around in billowing dresses arranging flowers, she has a female power that understands how to polish and package her talent. What a talent she is - have you seen our advent calendar ?

Ali however is so humble and lowly lit, so of the earth, so well-tempered that she politely sits back. Ali literally touches, wades and feels through the soil mud-larking for 17th century delftware and slipware at weekends. Her ceramics reflect this in their earthy tones and textures, and their intentionally abstract historical references. She has a secret entry to the Thames in Wapping behind a pub that’s always abundant in slipware as that was standard then. The star pattern you see in her work is from a shard on one visit.

Ali thinks, and delves both figuratively and literally. Its deep and layered much like the earth from whence it came. One imagines Ali reading under candlelight until the early hours by a roaring fire. The other day I put a fire on my plasma screen...wasn’t the same.

Rachael and Ali ultimately, have made and achieved a beautiful life they could not have in the expensive hubbub of London. They would have and did also work in cafes and shops and beg for space in other peoples kilns. It is only in the new year that Ali is finally doing her ceramics full time. In this remote but authentic life they lead, they support each other with their own studios and their own kilns. Not in a braiding each other’s hair way, in a quiet ‘you got this’ unwavering, empowering way.

We need each other. Much like we need the sun and we need the moon, we need the soil and we need the sky, we need some gloss and we need some grit. Merry Christmas from UP OUR STREET, to yours. We got this, 2021. 8HS X

PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLLIE TOMLINSON

WRITTEN BY ALEX MASTERS