Rejected Religion Spotlight Charlotte Rodgers: Art, Animism & Memory
Rejected Religion Podcast - A podcast by Stephanie Shea
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My guest this month is Charlotte Rogers. Charlotte is an artist, author, practicing witch and magician. She recently was artist-in-residence at the Magickal Women Conference 2024. Charlotte and I met in 2022 at the Visionary Medium Conference in Copenhagen. I was intrigued by her presentation there and was eager to talk with her more. Although it's been two years since we last spoke, I am happy to offer this interview for you now. Some highlights: With regard to Charlotte's 'process,' she explains that she is hyperaware of everything happening around her, and is trying to make sense of things as well as trying to see patterns that could help her operate in reality (or realities). However, with her art, she "switches off everything" although her brain is working on an unconscious level while she is creating. She then has to decipher what the meaning is afterwards. As she calls herself an 'intellectual packrat' she finds inspiration in culture of all forms, as well as in nature. Referencing her sculptures known as 'spirit houses,' she states, "in terms of spirit, ...things of spirit want nothing more than to be recognized." The objects Charlotte creates act as a place of recognition, as well as a place for the spirits to play, or rest, for example. Speaking about her recent work as artist-in-residence, Charlotte shares how her earlier work that focused on the 'dance' of magick and art developed into new explorations into animism and memory, the latter being the place of life force, in her opinion. Acknowledging memory is part of her artistic process. In closing, Charlotte shares how her work as a writer differs from that as an artist, and also shares her ideas of how 'the liminal' plays a role in her process in general.