Interview

Susan Merrick is an artist and current MA student, who explores feminism, language, transnational And social relations. She works as a sign language interpreter who lives in Farnham.

Visit her page to find out more:

http://www.pictaram.com/user/susan_merrick/1276820330

- Is this your first piece of immersive work?

Usually, my work has been around performative work and film, and these images came from a range i'm doing the the moment where I took photographs of women that I met, who are artists o local women. I wanted to try different ways of using them, by forming an alphabet, so I USED THEM TO CREATE MESSAGES.And this piece (see image above) was one of the final pieces at the time, so I went from using photographs and other materials. of course, it is evident that I wanted to use newsprint, which I first used on a window outside the exhibition and that felt really appropriate for the material.

- How has your practice evolved from before MA?

I was totally paint and illustration. I did an animation, and some film pieces, but they were

more documentations of my work. I found this a useful tool for recording performance, which was a work of art in its own right in some respects.

- In regards to your practice, how do you work, making a lot in quick succession with periods of reflection, or a gradual string of pieces?

I do a complete mixture. My ideas come in peaks and troughs, and often when I have an idea I have loads at once, so i often turn things out when that is happening, and then take the time to reflect, but sometimes, when i begin to reflect, I get more ideas from the initial assessment of my work, which can put a damper on my reflective periods.

- Where do you get your inspiration?

Sometimes, it comes from places I wouldn't expect; some people work with a process that fuels ideas, with the work stemming from that process... For me, I allow my concepts to rule my process, rather than the other way around. It was important to have a theme, and at the beginningg, I thought I would have to make a theme, but really, what manifested through my work were things that have interested me all my life: women's rights, language and the power of social relations, which have been with me since my first degree in sociology. As well, I am a sigh language interpreter, and so through my career, language has been huge, so coming into my art, it hasn't surprised me that these are what came through in my art. Generally, if I'm stuck, I'll go back to research through reading or having talks with other artists, which usually develops the next idea.

- How to you come to the conclusion that you have resolved a piece of work, and if so, how do you decern that it good enough for a gallery space?

i have been booking exhibitions every months since September, which has been quite full on, and is perhaps why I struggle to reflect as much as I need to, because I'm so hard pressed for time. Yet the deadline of a gallery, it forces me to reach a point where I am happy with the work as a piece that can stand on its own, forcing me to disseminate my work, rather than hold on and question if it is yet ready.

- So how do you even start looking for exhibiting spaces?

I think it's important that you just do it - call a gallery talk to people. Don't worry if you think your work isn't up to a gallery standard; he worst thing that can happen is that you put it up and that people don't like it, in which case you learn from it. Its all about being confident with your work and not being afraid of being told no and there will be a lot of nos.