I am nothing but a weld.
9,434 steel welds (1 weld for every day I have been alive; last updated Feb. 9 2024). 12"x5"x4". 2021-ongoing.

Caves, Expanded polystyrene, plaster, flocking. 8"x12"x7". 2022.

Cubes/Architecture Experiment,
MDF, projections. Dimensions variable. 2023.

Hot Head,
MDF, proximity sensor, Arduino, radiant heater. 15"x13"x21". 2021

Surface Tension,
MDF. 42"x18"x18". 2023.A variation of the cubes/architecture experiments; showcased at AVA Arts in Chattanooga, TN.

Activation (video and video stills),
MDF, PVC. 23"x23"x23". 2022.

Little Pitcher, Big Ears (install view)
MDF, plaster, surveillance camera, 3D print, lemonade, Big Boy bright red floating shelf, dead fly, mirror, ceramic rabbit, stuffed rabbit, oven mit, copper, aluminum, digital video (sourced from BBC). Dimensions variable. 2023.

that grass ain't gunna cut itself (video and video stills),
recorded durational performance. 2022.

Lamp #1
Interior and exterior of lamp is made from 100% recycled and found materials. 2022.

Moment Of Impact
Toothbrushes, Free Form Air, epoxy molds of my favorite steel padlock, 3D printed pieces of the Wright Brother's plane in the Smithsonian online collection.
2022.

Memorial
3D prints, silicon, tree bark, 3D print failures, moss, bones.
2023.

BIO:
Savannah Hodges (American, b. 1998) is a fine artist based in Chattanooga, TN working in sculpture, performance, installation, video, and tech work. She graduated in 2023 from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a BFA in Sculpture. She has received the Outstanding Senior Award for BFA Sculpture and the Upper-Division Lillian B. Feinstein Scholarship. Her work has been exhibited in various galleries in Chattanooga including the AVA Gallery, Institute of Contemporary Art, and Apothecary Gallery. Her interests lie within materiality, architecture, exploitation, the act of performing, and the contradictions that lie within surveillance and the modern world. She often works with metal, wood, plaster, surveillance cameras, and Arduinos. She draws most of her inspiration from 1960’s Minimalist art and philosopher Michel Foucault’s book "Discipline and Punish".



ARTIST STATEMENT:
Why do we perform? Are we able to choose when we do or don’t perform? We are living in a time when facial recognition, GPS, surveillance cameras, and reality TV are blurring the boundaries between voluntary and involuntary acting. My work sets up a stage for bodies to perform and present themselves in a variety of settings, and alter their performativity once it is aware that it might be watched. My work forces her viewers to oscillate between looking at the work and being looked at by the work.I am troubled by the implications of Michel Foucault’s Panopticism, which is the model for external surveillance. In Panopticism, the idea of being watched is internalized to such an extent that each prisoner becomes their own guard. Aside from that, Minimalist artists’ ability to reduce a work/object or idea down to its fewest key elements, all while keeping you physically aware of yourself within a space is wildly influential. In my work, Panopticism and Minimalism come together to create new power dynamics that each viewer can be a part of. The Panopticon boldly flashes its omnipresence and visibility, while Minimalist art is apathetic towards its viewers, and it is up to my viewers to tap into their own sheer will and power over their body, or lack thereof, to begin to experience the work.

last updated 07/23

CV:Savannah Hodges
savannah-hodges.com
[email protected]EDUCATION
Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Emphasis in Sculpture. Chattanooga, TN. 05/2023.PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Residency Fellow and Programs Assistant, Stove Works, Chattanooga, TN. 01/2024-06/2024.
Programs and Exhibitions Assistant, Stove Works, Chattanooga, TN. 09/2023-12/2023.
Freelance Sculpture Fabricator, Chattanooga, TN. 01/2021-present.
Woodshop Monitor, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Chattanooga, TN. 08/2021-05/2023.
Woodshop Technician, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Chattanooga, TN. 08/2021-05/2023.
University Special Projects, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Chattanooga, TN. 05/2022-05/2023.RESIDENCIES, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND AWARDS
Stove Works Residency, Chattanooga, TN. 01/2024-06/2024.
Outstanding Senior Award for BFA Sculpture, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. 2023.
Upper-Division Lillian B. Feinstein Scholarship, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. 2022-23.CURATORIAL
Oh What A World, BFA Sculpture Undergrad Show, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Chattanooga, TN. 11/2023.SOLO OR TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
Beyond the Surface, AVA Gallery. Feinstein Scholarship Exhibition. Chattanooga, TN. 02/2023-04/2023.GROUP EXHIBITIONS
BFA Senior Thesis, ICA Chattanooga Gallery. Chattanooga, TN. 04/2023.
Let It Speak, Apothecary Gallery. Chattanooga, TN. 04/2022.
Absence, Abundance, 801 McCallie Gallery. Curated by Hope Montgomery and Grace Shahan. Chattanooga, TN. 04/2022.
The Cave, Impromptu Cave Gallery. Curated by Laurel Kuyrkendall and Tanner Zaharis. Chattanooga, TN. 02//2022.
Immortal Messages, Juried Student Exhibition, Juror: Ellex Swavoni. ICA Chattanooga Gallery. Chattanooga, TN. 11/2021.
Drawing In The City, Apothecary Gallery. Chattanooga, TN. 02/2020.

https://www.wutc.org/2023-03-28/beyond-the-surface-art-by-two-utc-students-now-at-ava

Boucing Red Apple