Suzanne Mooney is an artist living and working in Bristol, England. She received her BA from the Chelsea College of Art and her MA from the Royal College of Art in London. Her work is currently on view in Cosmo’s Levels, a group show at the Sunday Painter Gallery in London.
What materials do you use in your work and what is your process like? The objects depicted within my most recent photographic works are all props and structures of display. Acrylic plinths and wooden platforms typically found in the presentation of luxury goods. Unmoored from their usual context, they become minimal sculptural forms.
Within the production of the work, I meticulously assemble objects and coloured grounds into compositions created within the viewfinder, without the aid of digital manipulation.
What kinds of things are influencing your work right now? I’ve just got my hands on the new MIT book called ‘Oblique Drawing: A History of Anti-Perspective’ by Massimo Scolari – fascinating stuff.
How has living in Bristol affected your art practice? Having a studio space at Spike Island has been really important for the development of my work; I’ve finally got all of my equipment, work and research in one place. It’s a really vibrant space for production and has a great exhibition/talks programme too.
What are some recent, upcoming or current projects you are working on? I am continuing to produce a body of photographic works that explore my interest in the collapse of an object into its representational form. I’ve also begun to shoot lots of Black & White studies, so I need to brush up on my darkroom skills, its been a while!
How did your interest in art begin? It was a process of elimination.
What artists are you interested in right now? Becky Beasley, Lindsay Seers, Elizabeth Price – today anyway.
Top 3 favorite or most visited websites and why?
http://www.ubu.com/ – Ubuweb is such a brilliant resource.
http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/audio-video – I tend to listen to recorded artist talks on Tate Channel when doing a really mundane task like spotting prints, it doesn’t feel like such a waste of time then.
http://www.suzannemooney.net – I’m always uploading news, information and images onto my website.
What are your plans for the next year? Learn to drive!
Any current or upcoming shows we should know about? Work of mine is being exhibited in four European countries this year as part of a touring exhibition, celebrating Ireland holding the Presidency of the Council of European Union in 2013.
What was the last exhibition you saw that stuck out to you? The definite highlight of 2012 was Documenta 13 – Great works by Gerard Byrne, Tino Sehgal, Ryan Gander, William Kentridge, Janet Cardiff, Pierre Huyghe, Daniel Gustav Cramer, Morandi etc…