Local artist profile: Susie Marcroft

THIS week we chat with installation-based Heathcote sculptor Susie Marcroft, whose “frighteningly beautiful” works are renowned for inspiring polarising views.

What initially motivated you to take up sculpture as a practice?

After a long career in graphic design working from client briefings, I longed for a more immersive approach to my creative practices. My honours year in visual arts resulted in discovering a love of clay modelling. I found the medium allowed for an intuitive, embodied way of working. It was completely surprising to see what emerged in the studio after a deliberate avoidance of rationalising what I was making, but rather allowing the work to come from an unconscious field of interplay with the natural world around me.

Clay is a highly visceral medium allowing for such an embodied process. For example, at times I have somatic experiences whereby a form I’m working on might feel like muscle rather than a lump of clay, or I experience the smell of the animal I’m making. There is often a moment of conception when the work comes to life and what follows is an intimate relationship with it through to completion. I often feel very sad when my works leave the gallery.

How would you describe your style?

My work has been described as having an empathetic unease. I aim to elicit an empathetic response through a particular tension, for viewers to see themselves in the other. I use the contradictions and conundrums inherent in our relationships with non-human animals as a trope that might also reflect our human-human relationships. In this way my art might be transformative in seeing the interconnectedness with others.

Which other artists inspire you?

In the past I have been inspired by Beth Cavener’s uncanny animal sculptures. She uses non-human animals metaphorically, rather than speaking directly to our human shortcomings. I also use her process of building form. Lately my perceptual responses to the natural world, memories and being with animals drive my practice.

What are some highlights you have from your career so far?

Probably the most endearing experiences have been when the audience responds visibly to my work. For example, one collector cried when I handed over the sculpture she purchased from the gallery. Another came up to me at an exhibition opening and told me how when she was feeling low, she hugged a piece she had purchased previously. These kinds of responses suggest that some are transformed through the experience of being with my work and that is all I hope for. Of course there are those who find it repulsive too. I’m ok with that.

How can people check out your work?

My work can be viewed at my gallery, Mudwood Studio, in Heathcote or @mudwoodstudio on Instagram and Facebook. New pieces go into the studio as I complete them along with works by other local artists.

What would you say to regional aspiring artists who are thinking of having a go at the artistic life?

My advice is to allow yourself a period of loosening up. Try different mediums. Make lots of mistakes. Don’t throw anything out. Keep a journal of your thoughts and processes. Try to get out of a critical, rational mind frame. Play. Experiment. Make your work relate to something you’re passionate about. And importantly, forget about any commercial imperative. A work imbibed with some passion and reverence will find its own way, and speak louder than any attempt at skill or perfection.