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Susie MacMurray

Hinterland

April 22 – May 21, 2016

installation view
installation view
installation view
installation view
installation view
installation view
installation view
installation view
installation view
installation view
installation view
installation view
Medusa, 2014-15, handmade copper chain mail over fiberglass & steel armature, 72 in. high (2 of 4 variants)
Medusa, 2014-15, handmade copper chain mail over fiberglass & steel armature, 72 in. high
Pandora, clear cast resin bullets, lightbox, 80 x 39.8 x 7.5 in.
Pandora, clear cast resin bullets, lightbox, 80 x 39.8 x 7.5 in.
Host, reclaimed military barbed wire, composite Portand stone, 7 elements each, each 47.2 x 25.5 x 25.5 in.
Host, 2015, reclaimed military barbed wire, composite Portland stone, 7 elements, each 47.5 x 25.5 x 25.5 in.
Halo, 2015, gold plated cipper wire, dimensions variable
Orphan, 2015, black annealed wire, bull's nose ring, 47.2 in. (length) x 23.6 in. (diameter)
Orphan, 2015, black annealed wire, bull's nose ring, 47.2 (length) x 23.6 (diameter)
Requiem, used violin and cello strings threaded onto used paino string donated by professional musicians, 98.4 x 19.7 x 7.9 in (detail)
Requiem, 2015, used violin and cello strings threaded onto used paino string donated by professional musicians, 98.4 x 19.7 x 7.9 in.
Palisade, reclaimed military barbed wire, composite Portland stone, 13.7 x 23.6 x 23.6 in.
Palisade, reclaimed military barbed wire, composite Portland stone, 13.7 x 23.6 x 23.6 in.
Hold the Line, 2015, reclaimed military barbed wire, painted MDF, 6.3 x 72 x 1.4 in.
Hold the Line, 2015, reclaimed military barbed wire, painted MDF, 6.3 x 72 x 1.4 in.

Danese/Corey is delighted to present Hinterland, an exhibition of new work by Susie MacMurray. A hinterland is a remote place on the borders of a town, an area lying beyond what is visible or known. MacMurray exploits this intangibility, which exists just outside of our knowledge and experience. The sense of beyond, something we can’t quite reach, opens a space which she utilises for an exploration of ideas around the nature of conflict and female identity - and the relationship between the two. She doesn’t give us answers but opens up a hinterland for our thoughts.[1]

MacMurray’s work places the viewer within a world of powerful dualities – desire and indifference; love and loss; fragility and power; the ephemeral and the visceral; the Apollonian and the Dionysian. The ambiguities and tensions within these opposing elements are remarkably poignant and evocative conditions of her work.

Central to the exhibition are Medusa and Pandora, an evolution of MacMurray’s garment sculptures, which question perceived notions of gender, punishment and conflict, and challenge our views of powerful female figures throughout history. “Connected by loss, hope, memory, and the human condition,” the new works draw parallels between conflict ancient and contemporary (MacMurray). 

Formerly a professional musician, MacMurray returned to school to study art at Manchester Metropolitan University and graduated with a Masters degree in Fine Art in 2001. Since then, she has achieved international status and has been exhibited widely in galleries and museums. She has also undertaken a number of site-specific installations in various historic locations in the United Kingdom and Europe. Susie MacMurray lives and works in Manchester, UK.

A fully illustrated catalogue is available.

 

[1] Howes, Natasha. Gender, Conflict and the Weight of Mythology, New York: Danese, 2016, p. 5.