LUNULE HANDCUT VINYL INSTALLATIONS
lunule.com
Tape: The Creative Sweet: Three colour Sharpie Markers and two rolls of tape with a tube end to make a pen holder. The Minimalist: One Black Sharpie Marker and one roll of tape.
lunule.com
The TUTU Project, National Ballet of Canada and the Design Exchange
Tutuconcept: I approached the Tutu Project with the idea to create a sculptural work. Instead of applying the hand-cut vinyl to a flat surface, I wanted to create a tutu of intensely coloured sign vinyl, intricately cut away and shaped to reveal the internal structure of the tutu.
60 TUTUs FOR 60 YEARs
video links: Rip, Tear , Cut: The Making of a Tutu: http://youtu.be/rjJSSrWuz14
Generously sponsored by THE VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE, THE NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA
lunule.com
2012, ghost birds in winter Stantec Window Gallery 401 Wellington Street West, Toronto
ghost birds in winter is a site and season specific work that captures the beautiful and naturally organized chaos of birds in flight through jagged, snow-covered peaks. The white of the vinyl on the surface provides a stark contrast to the surrounding grayness of winter. In a nod to the shiny promise of spring, a gold disc hangs on the interior wall of the gallery space. The irreality of this vision is cut away to reveal the depth of the gallery space and the everyday reflections of the street in the windows.
video link: ghost birds in winter: http://youtu.be/Kl_3_Ow7AU8
lunule.com
2010, Untitled, Wind, Bookhou
For Bookhou, I created a wall work that needed be in trio with the gallery space, the owner’s minimal and elegant hand made textiles and furniture and satisfy my interest in blowing apart a drawing of a butterfly in flight. The owners’ young son described my work as “the wind” and I thought this was a compliment—I wanted to extract movement and bring it to a work that is essentially still.
lunule.com
2009, Inflorescence, Floorworks/Relative Space I want to engage the physical properties of space and architecture with works that explore form and content (or, form versus content) in a personal way using a mundane, commercial material—sign vinyl. At Floorworks, I started with a natural form—a group of flower heads—taken to an abstract extreme. I want the work to transcend its material to provide the instant impact of a huge abstract painting, which at the same time subverts the slow and labor-intensive process of hand-cutting large rolls of vinyl and applying it to the wall. Winner IDS Window Competition.
lunule.com
Thickless, Making Room @ 224 Wallace
‌From one part to the other, the city seems to continue, in perspective, multiplying its repertory of images: but instead it has not thickness, it consists only of a face and an obverse, like a sheet of paper, with a figure on either side, which can neither be separated nor look at each other. Italo Chapter
Calvino, 7: Cities
Invisible and
Eyes:
Cities 5
This project maps the physical residue of social systems--how we carve out spaces and what that shows us about how we live.
lunule.com
2007, Dream 225, hand-cut vinyl wall, 6 ft H x 4 ft W, Alley Jaunt, Toronto, ON
I wanted to interrupt the landscape by creating a temporary graffiti that seeks to engage with the community and offer a psychic break from the bombardment of media imagery, tagging and other urban mark making that seek to divert our thoughts from the nature of our city.
lunule.com
2009, Wall Flowers, The Loretto, Toronto
This project was created for the client who wanted a flower image on her wall that would cover 2 walls and part of the ceiling and bookshelves. I created a drawing that would have visual interest from multiple viewing points in her loft. I also wanted to reflect the client’s love of plants while not overpowering the subtle style of her loft.
lunule.com
2008, Palm of the Hand Nature, hand-cut vinyl on wall, dimensions variable, Come Up to My Room, Gladstone Hotel In my installation for Come Up to My Room at the Gladstone Hotel, I want to explore the idea of “constructed� nature. We copy nature as we are losing nature--we make cellular trees to disguise unsightly towers, camouflage mimics our natural surroundings to give us an advantage in war--so that we can hold the natural world in our hands. For the installation, I chose materials--hand-cut burled wood grain vinyl, synthetic grass, and intricate patterning to limn my small piece of nature on the walls of the Gladstone Hotel.
lunule.com
2007, AfterNature, Wall + Paper, Nuit Blanche/Xpace Gallery In this work, I use drawing and text to create a space of social interaction and engagement in and with the city rather than one of public consumption or dismay. I hope that this unexpected work will interrupt and challenge viewers’ visual routines for a second to notice the nooks and crannies of our city. Interior walls: “A city sidewalk by itself is nothing. It is an abstraction. It means something only in conjunction with the buildings and other uses that border it or border other sidewalks very near it.” J a n e J a c o b s . The inside wall represents a Toronto bridge that was never completed as a result of local protest. The remainder of the bridge has been left standing as a representation in painting (this work plays with drawing, painting, and hand-cutting) as well as our construction of the concept of ”nature” and “natural”.
lunule.com
2009, Orange Solar Moment, “Drawing teaches us to observe and if we were more visually aware in this country, our environment would not be in such a mess. And possibly there might be less crime and violence if we could notice and enjoy what we see.” Letter published in The Guardian November 1995 I want to engage the physical properties of space and architecture with works that explore form and content (or, form versus content) using a mundane, mass-produced material—sign vinyl. The slow and labor-intensive process of hand-cutting the vinyl and carefully applying it to a wall or window subverts the commercial nature of the material. For Simone, I created an abstract work that is a reflection—a moment—of the street in the luminosity of the sun. I hope that this unexpected work will interrupt and challenge viewers’ visual routines for a second to notice the nooks and crannies of our city.
Artist Statement Born in Chicago, Susan Rowe Harrison currently lives and works in Toronto. She makes ink drawings and site-specific installations for domestic, commercial, and alternative settings. With an interest in nature, mapping, and text, her handmade morphology references art and design through her use of new media and her intuitive though labor-intensive process of hand drawing and cutting commercial sign vinyl. She applies the hand-cut vinyl to a wall or window in an installation, creates a sculptural object from it or, uses it as a concept drawing or maquette for a larger, fabricated work.
Biography Susan Rowe Harrison is an artist based in Toronto. Her work has been exhibited and collected in North America, Europe, and Asia. She received an MA in Art Education from New York University, a BA in the History of Art from the University of California at Berkeley. She studied Painting and Drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her commissions include Arts Etobicoke and Amnesty International Autoshare and Art on the Move Sally Chan Hyatt Hotels, Pittsburgh, PA FIFA World Cup/ Seoul Floorworks/Relative Space University of Chicago Committee on Japanese Studies Wave Hill, NYC
web:
www.lunule.com
etsy:
etsy.com/shop/lunule
twitter:
www.twitter.com/lunule
tumblr:
tapeartmovement.tumblr.com
blog : lunule.blogspot.com email : susan@lunule.com purchases, image requests, etc:
info@lunule.com