Pattern Portraits with Lauren Godfrey

In this special bonus episode of Pattern Portraits, Lauren Godfrey takes us behind the scenes whilst working at UCL as Artist in Residence for the Student Community, in Partnership with Students' Union UCL.

Lauren ran drawing workshops with UCL students drawing from patterns relating to their research areas and personal histories and then recorded their reflections on pattern as it relates to the courses they are studying from neuroscience to anthropology and biochemical engineering.

These drawings were developed into a series of huge backdrops for the Bloomsbury Theatre stage at UCL.
Painted on one of only a handful of traditional scenic paint frames in London, the project celebrates and revitalises the art of scenic painting for a new generation.

On 2nd October 2026, Lauren Godfrey invites you to experience the magic of the stage as you explore the spectacular hand-painted patterned backdrops created in collaboration with UCL students. With a special event at 6pm bringing the work to life with student performances and conversations in Pattern Portraits Live - get your ticket here!
https://www.bloomsburytheatre.com/event/2026/10/pattern-portrait-ucl

Enjoy this special episode with the students telling the fascinating stories behind their patterns and head to https://www.laurengodfrey.co.uk/ucl200/ to see images from the project and a transcript of the podcast episode.

Speakers: Austin, Ruqaiya, Criss, Selma, Hyden, Mahamed, Naoko, Melissa, Matteo, Vish, Maria, Lexi, Abira, Alina, Jazzy, Zimeng, Ian, Abhishek, Anan
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Welcome to this bonus episode of Pattern Portraits celebrating 150 Years of LIBERTY with author and historian Kassia St Clair.

Geek out with us about Liberty as Lauren Godfrey chats with Kassia St Clair about 'Liberty' as an adjective, getting lost in summer garden florals and Oscar Wilde’s hot take on the icon that is Liberty.

Kassia St Clair is the UK’s best selling historian under 40, selling hundreds of thousands of books globally, you might know her best for her brilliant book The Secret Lives of Colour in which she profiles the remarkable untold histories of pigments, inks and hues through time or perhaps her sumptuous book, The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History, telling of the depths to which our lives are intertwined with fabric and textiles, a topic I’m particularly passionate about here at Pattern Portraits!

In celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Liberty, Kassia has written a stunning new book titled ‘LIBERTY - Design, Pattern, Colour’, presenting the very latest examples of Liberty Design alongside prints, drawings and samples from the company’s outstanding archive, telling an inspiring, century long story of manufacturing quality and design excellence.

In Kassia’s characteristically poetic and lyrical style, she brings to life the stories of well loved and brand new Liberty patterns alike, told through chapters marking the key pillars of Liberty design, the book is a full colour celebration of one of the most unique and remarkable design houses of our time. Launching on 15th May 2025, the book is published by Thames and Hudson and is widely available to buy now!

Kassia has chosen a wonderful cross section of Liberty patterns that feature in the book and span the lifetime of Liberty from the late 19th Century design ‘Hera’, via classic Liberty floral ‘Betsy’ (1933), to two very different designs from the sixties; Althea McNish’s undulating ‘Hula Hula’ and Bernard Nevill’s geometric ‘Corbusier’ and finally bang up to date with illustrator Hattie Stewart’s playful ‘Hattie Park’ from 2022.

You can see all of Kassia’s patterns and more on instagram @patternportraitspodcast

‘Maybe Betsy’ - The PATTERN PORTRAIT print artwork to accompany Kassia’s interview and featuring the patterns we discuss is available to buy now at www.laurengodfrey.co.uk

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Welcome to this BONUS episode of Pattern Portraits on the occasion of Bethan Laura Wood’s solo exhibition at The Design Museum in London!

Step into the wiggle world of designer Bethan Laura Wood as she chats with Lauren Godfrey about hidden versus mirrored repeats, the similarities between kaleidoscopes and iPhones and pattern in three dimensions.

Known for her joyful and maximalist approach to design, Bethan Laura Wood has turned her hand to furniture, lighting, rugs and even handbags. Enhancing all she does with a friendly wiggle, a playful pattern and an immaculate eye for colour.

Bethan has collaborated with many companies including Hermes, Perrier-Jouet champagne and fine porcelain manufacturers, Rosenthal. She has work in collections worldwide including at the V&A and The Design Museum in London.

Bethan has chosen a veritable party of patterns including an Otomi embroidery from Mexico, a quilt from Pakistan, a book matched section of veneer made by Bethan, a vibrant Luntaya Acheik from Myanmar and a metallic zig zag pattern (origin unknown).

You can see all of Bethan’s patterns and more on instagram @patternportraitspodcast

‘The Wiggle World’ - The PATTERN PORTRAIT print artwork to accompany Bethan’s interview and featuring the patterns we discuss is available to buy now at www.laurengodfrey.co.uk
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Welcome to Episode 17 of Pattern Portraits!

Lauren Godfrey chats with artist David Batchelor, about the legacy of the Bauhaus, gilding tortoises and pattern as a cardinal sin.

David Batchelor is an artist well known for his sculptural and light based work that explores his experience of colour within a modern urban environment, and historical conceptions of colour within Western culture. David has exhibited worldwide with recent solo exhibitions in Sao Paolo, London and Edinburgh. He has delivered large scale commissions for London St Pancras Station and Art on the Underground. His book Chromophobia was published in 2000 and is a staple of art school reading lists worldwide.

David’s work delights in colour and shape, playing with the edges, the reflections and the shadows, drawing attention to the underside, the reverse or the back of a sculptural form, testing and flexing the parameters of our relationship to colour and the myriad ways we experience it.

David and I met earlier this year when I was tasked with making a series of beaded works on his behalf for his solo exhibition at Cecilia Brunson Projects in London. Though I was already a fan of his work, upon visiting his studio I discovered a cocoon of colour and a party of patterned references beyond what I could have imagined. We bonded over a shared love of colour charts for zips and getting giddy about chains dripping with perspex swatches!

David has chosen a delicious selection of patterns with a global reach including a Mondrian painting (Composition with Grid IX) from 1919, an Anni Albers work on paper from 1967, a 1965 quilt by Sue Willie Seltzer of the Gee’s Bend quilt makers and a Zulu beadwork date unknown.

You can see all of David’s patterns and more on instagram @patternportraitspodcast

‘Purple Punctuation’ - The PATTERN PORTRAIT print artwork to accompany David’s interview and featuring the patterns we discuss is available to buy now at www.laurengodfrey.co.uk
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Welcome to Episode 16 of Pattern Portraits!

Lauren Godfrey chats with artist Zadie Xa, about alchemy and conjuring through pattern, oddness over evenness and Korean Folklore.

Zadie Xa is an artist working across painting, sculpture and performance with recent presentations at Thaddeus Ropac in Paris, Hauser and Wirth in LA and The Whitechapel Gallery in London. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Zadie explores notions of homeland and diaspora through the metaphor of water and interspecies communication. Zadie has an MA in painting from The Royal College of Art and a BFA from The Emily Carr Institute of Design in Vancouver.

Her work often takes the form of textile constructions resembling garments or kimonos, heavily worked with quilting, appliqué and complex structural elements featuring recurring motifs such as the conch shell, the Yin Yang symbol, knives and kimchi. Performances have featured huge Orca whales and costumes sewn from bleach dyed denim in aqueous patterns of undulating water.

I am totally entranced by Zadie’s work and the way that pattern weaves its way into every element whether it’s a vast patchwork shelter, housing delicately rendered paintings or a gown hanging from the ceiling, poised with a pair of platform shoes resembling cabbages.

Zadie has chosen a vibrant patchwork of patterns including a Korean Bojagi wrapping (date unknown), Sonia Delaunay’s ‘Simultaneous Dress’ from 1913, a pattern of her own - Kimchi Rites and Kitchen Rituals, 2022, a Christopher Kane flower stamped dress from Spring/Summer 2012 and a Mori Yuzan wave drawing circa 1903.

You can see all of Zadie’s patterns and more on instagram @patternportraitspodcast

‘Magic Motif’ - The PATTERN PORTRAIT print artwork to accompany Zadie’s interview and featuring the patterns we discuss is available to buy now at www.laurengodfrey.co.uk

Image of Zadie Xa by Benedict Johnson

References:
Gee’s Bend Quilt Makers
Legacy Russell
The New Bend Exhibition at Hauser and Wirth
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