Susan Hughes’ video, print, installation, sculpture and audio works are informed by personal stories and experiences. She uses synthetic and artificial materials and mediums such as brightly coloured perspex, surround sound audio and coloured lighting often associated with the ‘urban’ to create immersive viewing environments that capture psychedelic sensual encounters in and with nature.
ARTIST BIO
Susan Hughes is an artist from Belfast who graduated with an MFA from Ulster University in 2021, receiving the Centre for Contemporary Art (Derry-Londonderry) and Platform Arts (Belfast) Graduate Awards. She has undertaken many artist residencies in Ireland and Scandinavia, where she has used her traditional fiddle playing as a bartering tool to gain access to local stories. She is a recipient of the PS² Freelands Artist Programme award (2022-23) and is a studio holder at Orchid Studios, Belfast.
Brompton Swim, 2022, Susan Hughes, 49.5cm (h) x 45cm (w), Screenprint and Hi-Vis paint wash on ‘South Bank Smooth’ white 250gsm paper
Top Left: An installation of shot of Lost Not Lost, Susan Hughes, University of Ulster MFA Show, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2021.
Never Lost, 2021, Susan Hughes, Cellophoane, vinyl letters, fiddle performance.
Centre for Contemporary Art Derry~Londonderry MFA Graduate Award.
Something Happens To Time, 2021, Susan Hughes, a two part video created following an interview with Niamh Scullion (of Lagan Currachs) in early 2019.
Susan Hughes studio, Orchid Studios, May 2022.
She is currently exploring experiences of bioluminescent phosphorescence. This phenomenon occurs at night in the sea at certain times of the year when microscopic plankton are ignited by movement, creating tiny sparks of light. Her ongoing research of phosphorescence encompasses Irish folklore, traditional music, fairy stories, ‘Euro disney’, and fluorescent geology.
Brompton Swim, 2022, Susan Hughes, 49.5cm (h) x 45cm (w), Screenprint and Hi-Vis paint wash on ‘South Bank Smooth’ white 250gsm paper
An installation of shot of Lost Not Lost, Susan Hughes, University of Ulster MFA Show, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2021.
