Next in our next Ruby Jack Meets series, we're so excited to spotlight Lindsey Mendick, a remarkable artist whose work fuses ceramics with elements like stained glass, film, and performance to create deeply personal installations. Lindsey’s art is a reflection of her own life experiences, inviting us all to explore our stories through her unique lens.
Based in Margate, Kent, Lindsey co-founded Quench Gallery with Gemma Pharo and Guy Oliver to support emerging artists during the pandemic—a testament to their commitment to the creative community. In our interview, Lindsey shares insights into her creative process, the challenges of sustaining an artistic career, and her love for Ruby Jack’s bold designs, which mirror the strength and beauty she strives to capture in her own work...
Ruby Jack: Hi Lindsey! You are incredibly prolific. What does a working week look like for you and how do you stay focused/combat procrastination?
Lindsey Mendick: A working week for me is usually spent in my studio at TKE. Often I'll be working on a few projects at the same time which helps my OCD brain to focus! The tasks can be wide and varied, from forging sculptures in clay to zoom meetings with galleries... the day often scrambles away from me.
This might sound terrible but because my practice is my only job, I have to stay focused, I don't really have a choice! But actually quite recently I've been watching The Real Housewives franchise and it really keeps me glued to my chair in the studio!
RJ: I am in awe of what you have achieved with your creations. What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
LM: There have been a few stand out shows, like Off with Her Head at the Carl Freedman Gallery. I think I mostly feel pretty proud of myself for keeping on going. The creative industries can be so precarious and so fickle... just when you feel that you're doing swimmingly, you can be dragged back down by losing funding, complicated relationships with galleries and institutions, losing out on commissions, being swamped by admin... the list is endless. Keeping yourself together and overcoming the obstacles life throws at you I feel is such a big achievement.
RJ: As fellow Margate-based creatives, we at RJ HQ all understand why you chose to live here - but what is it about the town that drew you to it personally? What is it that keeps you here?
LM: My partner Guy Oliver and I couldn't afford to live in London any longer! The usual story! But also, we were just coming out of the first lockdown and we knew we couldn't keep living on top of each other and in a city. We wanted to move somewhere that had a creative community. London was beginning to be quite lonely and I think it can be especially hard if you work in a studio alone all day. We came to Margate on a day trip and just fell in love with it. We met two artists who live here, Hannah Lees and Jack Lavender and they were so welcoming and positive about Margate as a place to live.
I stay living in Margate because of the gorgeous people; the space it affords you to live and work and of course, because of the calmness of the sea. Even though I rarely swim in it. I more like looking at it.
RJ: You launched Quench Gallery during the pandemic alongside Gemma Pharo and Guy Oliver. Why did you feel it was necessary for the community around that time and today?
LM: I think the pandemic was intrinsically lonely and frightening for a lot of people. We were both experiencing many exhibitions being postponed or cancelled entirely and it was completely deflating. We wanted to create a gallery that was birthed within the confines of the pandemic and wasn't just waiting for it to be over. We wanted to create shows and give opportunities that would support artists within that time. After the pandemic, the gallery just grew and grew. We ended up losing our first space and then getting this epic gallery on the Northdown Road. I'm so proud of it, even though it's a difficult beast. It aims to nurture artists in ways like mentoring, wellness packages and not taking any commissions on sales. I think often the toll that the creation process can take on artists can sometimes be forgotten in the exhibition making process.
RJ: As well as running exhibitions, Quench offers an educational programme for young people locally. Why was this important for you and what has been the most rewarding moment since the programme's conception?
LM: I think as a gallery we all understand what an awful state arts education is in at the moment. Since 2010, arts enrolment has dropped by 47% at GCSE and 29% at A-level. It's horrendous. Art saved me as a child, I wouldn't be who I am today without the help of my art teachers. We truly believe in young people and wanted to give back to the community that we're a part of. We also really want art to be accessible to all and I think that starts with young people.
The educational programme is really Gemma Pharo's baby. She's incredible with young people and truly cares about making the programme fun and informative. Reading the feedback from the summer school students made it all worthwhile. They all felt that they had grown in confidence... it was wonderful.
RJ: Which Ruby Jack pieces are you wearing and what made you choose them?
LM: Oh, of course it's the
(Gia Vase) earrings! They are just so utterly beautiful and I am completely obsessed with them. They have this way of being elegant without being too dainty... they have a robustness to them which attracts me to all the jewellery I wear. I chose
both these colours because my hair often fluctuates from blue to green!
I also chose the
Water For Elephants necklace because I have always been obsessed by opal! When I was younger, my sister and I used to peer into the window of a second hand jewellers whilst we waited for our bus. We'd choose our engagement rings and I'd also choose a massive iridescent opal. It's so colourful without having any colour at all. It's perfection.
RJ: What is the most important piece of creative advice you have ever received?
LM: You get rejected for 99% of the open calls, exhibitions, funding bids that you apply for. You rack up debts, live precariously and cry at every year end when you make futile attempts to learn how to do your taxes (learn how to do your taxes, they will never teach you that in any art school). The true success will be in not giving up, of understanding that nothing is tipped in your favour and never taking any opportunity for granted, no matter how small! That you can’t rely on your talent. My dad taught me this. In art, talent doesn’t always prevail and that’s been gut wrenching to see. It’s not fair, the good guys don’t win and the bastards do grind you down.
RJ: Who or what are you creating for, other than for yourself?
LM: I think I make work mostly out of frustration and fear. I'm scared of everything and it's bloody frustrating. I'm a real worrier. I make work to communicate what I can't with words because these subjects scare and confuse me. It's hard for me to say something cohesively... but in my work I feel I can. They speak for me when I can't.
