“The revolution will be ceramicised” proclaims Carrie “The Baroness” Reichardt, one of a growing number of artists who express their political beliefs through the subversion of unlikely mediums including embroidery, ceramics and mosaic.

“Craftivists”, as many of those involved in the scene have dubbed themselves, might spend hours painstakingly cross-stitching a panel, which, on closer inspection, is revealed to be of a pornographic scene, take old flak jackets and give them a pacifist re-working or, as in Carrie’s case, use a twee vintage china plate as the canvas for some “gentle anarchy”.

While the concept is nothing new – “they were hiding secret codes in tapestries in the 14th century” – Carrie puts the current resurgence down to a society that no longer expects to find art in the prescribed places.

“This stuff is Banksy in another form,” she goes on. “He showed us we didn’t need Saatchi and his millions, people could appreciate art and its messages wherever it was displayed.”

“Craftivism” also taps into the backlash against cheap, mass-produced goods and into the need to preserve traditional skills.

Carrie trained in sculpture but found she got more out of making mosaics. From initial dabbling at a family class she took her young daughter to (“She hated it but I loved it”), she has gone on to mosaic part of the exterior of her West London house with bold, politically-charged designs, and drives a mosaic-covered van that features the death mask of a death row prisoner made by fellow artist Nick Reynolds.

For the show she has helped curate at Ink-d gallery, she has given a panel from a war plane and a VW bonnet her unique treatment. “Mosaic is always thought of as being so decorative and twee – it conjures up images of dolphins and white grout. I’m interested in subverting all that.”

Carrie will also be presenting a selection of her numerous tongue-in-cheek ceramics, one of her more recently discovered passions and the reason she has yet to complete the work on her house.

“My front room is filled with old plates I bought off eBay all in different categories – twee, religious, American, royalty.

I look for stuff I know was quality to begin with or that I find insanely funny.”

The result is commemorative royal wedding plates plastered with “I Love Satan” transfers, anarchist teacups and ceramic spray cans embellished with “Turner Prize Reject”.

Nick Reynolds, who also plays with the band Alabama Three, presents a selection of his death masks. Screaming Lulu’s pornographic and poetic embroideries put a very different spin on the favourite pastime of Jane Austen’s women, while War Boutique’s requisitioned armour, textiles and ballistic objects question the role and ethics of the military.

Carrie admits selling work in a gallery isn’t strictly in keeping with the craftivist ethos, but hey, a guerilla ceramicist has to make a living somehow.

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