London-based artist Zazou Roddam explores the intersection of pop culture nostalgia and historical trauma through the manipulation of found objects and archival media. Her practice, rooted in a long-standing fascination with the 'detritus of history' found in London’s Portobello Road Market, gained significant attention following her debut solo exhibition at Brunette Coleman. Central to her recent work is the video piece 'Pop Inflection (The City)', which meticulously edits footage from 'Sex and the City' to track the architectural and psychological shifts in New York City before and after the 9/11 attacks.
Roddam’s work matters because it critiques how mass media and pop culture serve as unintentional archives of geopolitical shifts. By stripping away the narrative of a cult television show to focus on the skyline, she reveals the 'architectural homogenization' and anxiety that followed a global cataclysm. Her ability to transform mundane relics—from crystal door handles to doorbell transformers—into sculptural meditations on time and memory positions her as a compelling voice among a new generation of London artists examining the ruins of the recent past.