Catherine Hoffmann

My work sits in the intersection between performance, absurd humour and music. I create interactive performances as well as staged pieces for art venues, festivals, galleries, cabaret, club settings and varied sites in the UK and abroad. DIY song making and music is a big part of my practice. 

Women’s health, bodies, ageing, loss, guilt class and shame are themes I have been exploring recently – my own experiences, and those of others. 

I have been described as an elemental weather system; my work is irreverent and what could be described as a ‘hot mess’. 

In 2019 I presented work at the Stephen Lawrence gallery – in ‘Keep the door of my lips’ – an exhibition Voicing women’s work in Victorian/Austerity Britain. I also toured Cyst-er Act, Commissioned by Metal, Ovalhouse and developed at the Quarterhouse -This work charts the experience of having my fallopian tube removed; my ovary grew a huge thin walled organ which I called Leonard, that took over my entire stomach. 

And in Sep 2019 I performed ‘Six Broken songs’ at GISWIL International Performance art festival. 

In 2017/8 I toured Free Lunch with the StenchWench – A solo exploring shame in relation to class and poverty – I breast feed a rat, stick it in grey austerity pants, cook and burn food, talk and eat with my mouth full, scratch furiously, betray my mother and cover myself in hot chocolate – all visceral, abject attempts to humiliate myself. I should feel ashamed but instead I illuminate these actions to relinquish them. 

My collaborative work with Florence Peake – Sex Music and Wombmanifesting Kitchen – explores desire, taboos and visibility with new work for 2021 being developed with support from Home live Art.

Texts and lyrics made for ‘Whatever happened to the Glory Days’ were published in 2018 by Live Art Development Agency for the book ‘to You to you to you love letters to a post Europe’, and Presented in Athens, UK arts centres. Other recent Publications of work include in Daylighting newspaper for The Wellcome trust (Interview with my ovaries) I was guest contributor for the ‘Surgery and emotion conference’ at Roehampton University.

Contact:
cathoffmann.com