Installation view of 'Don't get your hopes up'
For further works and information on this artist please click here
Areas of the gallery walls appear to have been left unfinished after the de-installation of the previous show. Unusually the behind-the-scenes paraphernalia of display such as screw-heads, nail holes, rawl plugs and pencil marks are still in evidence, together with seemingly unintentional marks associated with the movement of art work. A bucket catches drips from the ceiling and a general air of neglect pervades.
Within Susan Collis practice, everyday objects and surfaces are presented splattered and stained with the marks of wear and tear, and the viewer might, upon further investigation, realise that the timeworn flecks of paint that cover an old broom, are in fact delicate and precisely inlaid pearls, jasper, turquoise, garnets and black diamonds. Initially, the demarcations seem to be the secondary results of a primary activity, seemingly worthless and easily ignored. Collis is interested in the shift of perception that takes place upon discovery that they are, in fact, intentional and primary activities themselves.
For this her first solo exhibition at SEVENTEEN Collis has produced a series of interventions that refer to the accidental and neglected, within the context of gallery space. The exhibition will be easy to overlook, as a cursory glance might lead the viewer to believe the gallery was empty. However, further investigation of the space will reward the viewer, leading them towards Collis notions of hidden labour, within a complex network of contradictions and revelations. Dont get your hopes up questions the structures and methods of its own production, together with the viewers most basic assumptions about artistic production and display.
A catalogue is available to accompany this exhibition.
Susan Collis would like to acknowledge the gracious support of The Arts Council England.
Forthcoming projects include Out of the Ordinary, at The V&A, London, 15th November 2007 to 13th February 2008 and touring.