Time for tea? - Ideas of Britishness explored in new Hiscox exhibition
"Dewlap" by Henry Hudson, a new exhibition at Hiscox Art Projects

Exhibition dates: 22 February - 20 April

London, UK: Tea-stained canvases and biro drawings of roguish characters make up Henry Hudson's first solo exhibition at Hiscox Art Projects. Influenced by the satirical cartoons of George Cruikshank and Hogarth and contemporary artists including Paul McCarthy, Hudson avoids direct political commentary, and instead his tragi-comic subjects investigate class, social conventions and what it means to be British. Monty Python, Blackadder and The Young Ones inform Hudson's wry approach and his love of the ridiculous. The images are sourced from a range of places and publications including pub walls, old books, Farmers' Weekly and Country Life, and several appear to have been lifted from a nightmarish version of Beatrix Potter's classic children's books.

Other works are made of plasticine made to appear as oil paintings. Traditionally a children's plaything, plasticine has innocent connotations which Hudson's subject matter undercuts with its emphasis on adult, sometimes sexual subject matter. The plasticine paintings have their roots in a range of 20th century German painters including Max Beckmann, Georg Baselitz and Martin Kippenberger.

The title of the exhibition "Dewlap" refers to the flap of skin that hangs beneath the chin of an animal, or on an elderly person's neck.

Henry Hudson graduated from Central St Martins College of Art and Design in 2005. His first exhibition at Hiscox Art Projects was The Beautiful and the Damned, a controversial collaboration with Stella Vine, which featured celebrities including Kate Moss and Meg Matthews.

Elliot McDonald, Hiscox Curator, said: "Henry Hudson's work often transgresses conventional notions of good taste and challenges us to look again at familiar subject matter. His work is both striking and humorous and we are delighted to be bringing an original talent to Hiscox Art Projects."

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For further information including images please contact:

Jessica Blomfield
Kallaway
020 7221 7883
jessica.blomfield@kallaway.co.uk

Sarah Grogan
Hiscox
020 7448 6494
sarah.grogan@hiscox.com

About Hiscox plc
Hiscox plc is a specialist insurance group listed on the London Stock Exchange. There are three main underwriting parts of the Group - Hiscox Global Markets, Hiscox UK and Europe, and Hiscox International. Hiscox Global Markets underwrites mainly internationally traded business in the London Market - generally large or complex business which needs to be shared with other insurers or needs the international licences of Lloyd's. Hiscox UK and Hiscox Europe offer a range of specialist insurance for professionals and business customers, as well as high net worth individuals. Hiscox International includes offshore operations in Bermuda and Guernsey and Hiscox USA.

For further information, go to www.hiscox.com

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