Shadow Pop Up Sculpture Mosman Festival

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Suzanne Davey, Shadow, 250cm x 300cm x 90cm, steel, styrofoam, paper pulp, paint


Shadow is a sculptural response by artist Suzanne Davey to the opening of the Mosman Art Gallery exhibition The Unending Shadow, an exhibition of artworks by prominent Australian mother and daughter artists, Ann and Sophie Cape. Together they have made a series of challenging new artworks exploring the phenomena of Dementia and its impact within the community. The exhibition examines the emotional and psychological ‘spaces’ that people with dementia inhabit, as well as those of their family, friends and loved ones. Works can be seen Thursday 10 September-Sunday 29 November 2015. Shadow is a pop up sculpture for Mosman Festival 2015.

The Gravity of Moments

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Suzanne Davey, The Gravity of Moments, fabric, steel, resin, 350cm x 350cm x 350cm

The Gravity of Moments is a large suspended installation that flutters in the breeze. The work is featured in Sculpture in the Glen, along with 50 local, national and international artists work and includes small indoor and large outdoor sculptures in a variety of media. The exhibition is curated by Penny Philpott and celebrates Glen Street Theatre’s 30th anniversary. It opens 5 September and continues untill 25 October 2015. The ethereal sculpture responds to its theatrical site and bushland gardens.

Harbour Sculpture

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Harbour Sculpture 2015, featuring 88 artists; 51 indoor and 61 outdoor sculptures


Suzanne Davey, Echo of Invisible Things, clothing, resin, 240cm x 140cm x 100cm

Suzanne Davey, Echo of Invisible Things, clothing, resin, 240cm x 140cm x 100cm
Suzanne Davey, Echo of Invisible Things, clothing, resin, 240cm x 140cm x 100cm

Suzanne Davey, Echo of Invisible Things, clothing, resin, 240cm x 140cm x 100cm


The Unfurling

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Suzanne Davey The Unfurling 10m x 3m x 2m, recycled clothing, resin, steel

The Unfurling is a large scale site responsive installation of suspended body ‘voids’ created from recyled clothing and resin, harnessing wind and light. The work was exhibited as part of the North Sydney Art Prize 2015 at the Coal Loader Waverton.  The site is located on the shores of Sydney harbour and examines the coast as a place of sanctuary.


The Unfurling is a response to the debate surrounding vulnerable populations arriving on Australian shores and beyond, and the human costs. Individual rights and national interests are given precedence over collective human rights. Tragedy grips people dreaming of sanctuary but who are subjects to forces beyond their control through war, politics and discrimination.
Clothing is utilised as a social and cultural signifier of identity, memory and psychological ties with others. The clothes become traces of the bodies that once occupied them, ‘voids’, and on mass symbolise the collective struggles of vulnerable people. 

Wind choreographs movement in the collective and subjects them to elemental forces beyond their control. The sculptures are translucent and reflect natural light as they move.

The work was inpired by the poems of Mena Johnson, a poet that I collaborated with for the On Islands project at Eramboo Artist Environment.

The Unfurling installation detail On Islands project

The Unfurling installation view On Islands project

The Unfurling installation video showing movement, On Islands project

The Unfurling installation details On Islands project

The Unfurling bushand installation view On Islands project

Groundswell Public Art Installation

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Suzanne Davey, Groundswell, recycled clothing, resin, paint, steel, 350cm x 800cm x 400cm

Groundswellis an energetic public art installation created for the ENLIVEN festival, Mona Vale. The work was commissioned by Pittwater Council and was made in partnership with the charity Lifeline.

Made from donated recycled clothing Groundswellis a suspended installation made from pants of all shapes and sizes. Lots of legs appear to be surging forward, walking and running, and hopefully creating a ripple in the local community.
The work draws inspiration from the site. Davey states, “ As soon as I saw the Lifeline Centre in Bungan Laneway and its recycled clothing I knew exactly what I wanted to do. To me Lifeline is all about reaching out to life and connecting with others for support. Clothing is all about people and living.”

Special thanks to Lifeline for their generous donation of clothing.

Groundswell installation , shadow detail
Family enjoying the Groundswell installation at the ENLIVEN festival
Rear view detail, Groundswell installation
Detail, Groundswell

Window reflection, Groundswell

The Echo of Invisible Things HIDDEN

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Suzanne Davey, The Echo of Invisible Things, clothing, resin, paint, 240cm x 60cm x 60cm

The Echo of Invisible Thingsis a memorial column, dedicated to human fragility and vulnerability. It is a response to contemporary narratives of abuse, homelessness, abandonment and neglect by public institutions.  The work uses a a classic architectural element to reference institutions such as churches, temples, museums, theatres and government.  Clothing is utilised as a social and cultural signifier of identity, memory and our psychological ties with others. The clothes are traces of the bodies that once wore them, mementos to individual and collective lived experiences; an echo of tragedy.

 
Installed in Rookwood Cemetery the work references memorial and funerary architecture such as chapels, arches, churches and temples.
Above: Clothing detail, Suzanne Davey, The Echo of Invisible Things, clothing, resin, paint, 240cm x 60cm x 60cm


Sweet Surrender

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Suzanne Davey, Sweet Surrender, ceramic, metal, 220 cm x 220cm x 30cm



A protective response to the fragility of the delicate ecosystem of Stony Range; captured, completely surrounded and held to ransom by the encroaching urban environment.

 A site specific work installed in Stony Range Regional Botanical Garden 2014.



Overhead installation view, Sweet Surrender, ceramic, metal, 220 cm x 220cm x 30cm

Installation detail, Sweet Surrender, ceramic, metal, 220 cm x 220cm x 30cm

Ceramic detail, Sweet Surrender, ceramic, metal

Installation view, Sweet Surrender, ceramic, metal, 220 cm x 220cm x 30cm


A Thousand Steps: Keeping Company Manly Art Gallery and Museum

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Suzanne Davey, A Thousand Steps, fabric, wood, bamboo, 350 x 120 x 400 cm


A Thousand Steps is an installation created for the Manly Art Gallery & Museum ‘Keeping Company’ exhibition. New works were made in response to a range of artworks held in the Manly Art Gallery & Museum collection. A broad range of art media was represented including painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, printmaking, textiles and glass. A Thousand Steps responds to Paola Talberts photograph, Kairos (moment of truth), 2000.


Paola Talbert, Kairos (Moment of truth), 2000, Type C LED print, 47 x 74cm,
Manly Art Gallery & Museum collection purchased 2004

Kairos (καιρός) is an ancient Greekword meaning the right or opportune moment (the supreme moment). Signifies a time between, a moment of indeterminate time in which something special happens.

Artist Statement

I was immediately drawn to Paola Talberts work, Kairos. The sensuality of the image with its dreamy, floating figure catching her breath and her rich and moody use of light and transparency all had great appeal. I have responded to the work both materially, through the use of fabric and conceptually, by exploring journeys and transition points. Wings have long been metaphors for our desires to explore, take flight, and soar to new heights. A Thousand Steps marks our day to day hopes and struggles as we journey through life.


Suzanne Davey, A Thousand Steps, fabric, wood, bamboo, 350 x 120 x 400 cm

Suzanne Davey, A Thousand Steps, fabric, wood, bamboo, 350 x 120 x 400 cm

Concept proposal drawing

The Shape of Air: exhibition at Eramboo Artist Environment

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Suzanne Davey, Zest (maquette), twigs, grasses, wire, wax, 50 x 90 x 40cm

The Shape of Air was exhibited at Eramboo Artist Environment and comprised of works by installation artists Suzanne Davey and Ainslie Murray exploring the tangible nature of air and material echo. Curated by Greg Stonehouse the works investigate a range of ideas drawn from notions about air and immaterial space such as breath, presence/absence, the dissolution of architectural space and atmosphere. Both artists explored these notions through outdoor works in the Eramboo bushland as well as a range of process works in the gallery.

The Shape Of Air exhibition installation

Concepts introduced by Monika Bakke’s book ‘The Life of Air’ were explored, including thinking of air as a crowded perpetual motion component of place and as a dynamic habitat we share through the action of breathing with plants, animals (birds and insects) and microbial life. The works respond to the site by installation placement, using materials collected from it or by engaging with  the unique and special characteristics of Eramboo as a place on the urban fringe, surrounded by wild bushland.  The spatial intersections ultimately aim to investigate our dynamic relationship with the landscape; as a space where our bodies merge constantly with the environment.

The Shape Of Air exhibition installation
Suzanne Davey, Tangled, fabric, sticks, resin,
wax, wire, 110 x 250 x 10cm
Suzanne Davey, Tangled, (detail), fabric, sticks, resin,
wax, wire, 110 x 250 x 10cm
Ainslie Murray, The Liquid Air (Prototype),
aluminium, acrylic, sand, dimensions variable
Artist talk, The Shape of Air, Ainslie Murray, The Liquid Air (Prototype),
aluminium, acrylic, sand, dimensions variable

Suzanne Davey, Configuring Wonder, installation detail,
fabric, bamboo, sticks, 300 x 500 x 800cm
Suzanne Davey, Configuring Wonder, installation view with
Eramboo gallery, fabric, bamboo, sticks, 300 x 500 x 800cm

Suzanne Davey, Zest (maquette), twigs, grasses, wire, 50 x 90 x 40cm

Suzanne Davey, In Between, fabric, sticks, stone,
rope, tent pegs, 200 x 300 x 550cm

Suzanne Davey, In Between, fabric, sticks, stone,
rope, tent pegs, 200 x 300 x 550cm

 

Suzanne Davey, On the Edge, bamboo, fishing line,
 wire, paint, 80 x 180 x 450cm

Bitter Pills: in situ 13

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Suzanne Davey, Bitter Pills, ceramic, sticks, metal, plastic,
 fabric, stones, paint, cardboard, 270 x 180 x 50cm 


Bitter Pills was an installation created for the Mosman Festival Of Sculpture and Installation, in situ 13. Organised by the Mosman Art Gallery and curated by Cassandra Hard Lawrie the exhibition started at the gallery and then trailed through Mosman’s shopping and cafe precinct. It featured 50 works by Australia’s leading sculptors and installation artists. The work featured in the shopfront of the Harmony Pharmacy, Military Road, Mosman



ARTIST STATEMENT

Bitter Pills is a response to the notion of harmony and dis-harmony. Harmony Pharmacy dispenses conventional pharmacy medicines as well as natural and complementary medicine. It practices an integrative approach to health, including body, mind and spirit. In Bitter Pills nature is transformed and re-configured by the application of various pressures (squashing, twisting, squeezing), and the results encapsulated in plastic pill casings. The work reflects our everyday experiences of stresses and strains, and the sometimes catastrophic results to our fragile health when things get out of balance.

Ceramic detail
Detail of sculptures prior to creating the installation