Caroline Broadhead

About

Caroline Broadhead brings to material the mystery of engagement. Her work offers an intimacy
that barters that which is both common place with the prospect of the sublime. When faced with
the most arresting work of the exhibition, Exchange of Views, we meet the mirroring of Narcissus
as we search for ourselves in the fragmented reflections derived from the decorative curtain of
lace. This, of course, would not be possible if the suburban textile had simply been transposed,
instead the vast scale of Broadhead's decorative counterpart draws us in. Strangely we are both
inside and out, knowing our place but wanting more. It is unusual to think of skill when so
engaged and so much part of the piece, but in narcissistically wondering about 'how we look', as
we attempt to complete our fragmented image, we also wonder how this work has been made.
Departing from self-interest to consider Broadhead's expertise is a daunting exercise and even if
she tells us, in the most ordinary terms, it is difficult to match her process with the seduction of the
outcome.