Susan Knight
'Racing Snaffle'
Equine Cyanotype Series - On display at Eleven40 Gallery during Aug - Sept 2011. On first glance, the objects in these prints look arcane and vaguely disturbing; almost like obscure medical instruments or handcuffs perhaps. One thinks of cold metal against soft tissue as a means of restraint. And while the x-ray effect of the cyanotype reinforces this clinical impression, it also imbues the image with a kind of purity, a ghostly quality that lifts it into another realm. The gleaming stainless steel bits with their joints and rings and shanks create tantalizing, geometric patterns suggesting interlinked, stick-figure outlines of bodies united in a common purpose, like rider and horse. For artist and equestrian, Susan Knight, the horse bit is an object of beauty; its design and aesthetic reflect humanity’s long relationship with the horse. While she is well aware that when misused, the bit can be an instrument of pain, she also knows that in the right hands, it is a finely honed tool for communication and concord. Her appreciation of the art of dressage informs her interest in these objects and her transformation of them into works of art. The prints are part of a larger series of cyanotypes and photographs inspired by the many facets of dressage including the equipment and aids used in training a horse. Knight chose the cyanotype because, as the original blueprint in architecture and engineering, it highlights the technical nature of the bit’s design and evolution – originally developed as a means to control horses during warfare 4000 years ago. Drawing on the modernist architectural credo of form following function, her images explore the relationship between utility and beauty, reminding us how unsung objects can become replete with meaning and mystery when viewed through the artist’s eye. - Fiona Capp 2011 Susan Knight is represented by Otomys Arthouse
'Snaffle'
'Fulmer Snaffle'
'Egg-Butt Snaffle'
'Solarized Fulmer Snaffle'
'Pelham'
Susan Knight
solo exhibitions 2002 Extract, Dianne Tanzer Gallery, Melbourne, Australia 1999 Pressings, City of Darebin Library, Melbourne, Australia 1998 Take a Leaf, Temple Gallery, Melbourne, Australia 1997 Pressing Matters - West Space, Albert Street, Footscray
commissions
2010 Installation at Hub Showroom, Sydney
selected group exhibitions
2008 postcard show, linden centre for contemporary arts, melbourne, australia 2007 room, scheme 3, counihan gallery, melbourne, australia 2007 room, scheme 2, linden centre for contemporary arts, melbourne, australia 2006 R&M McGivern art prize, maroondah gallery, melbourne, australia 2005 room, scheme 1 2004 seeing red, maroondah gallery, melbourne, australia 2003 plane opposites, labX gallery, melbourne, australia 2002 melbourne art fair, royal exhibition building, melbourne, australia 2000 surface, dianne tanzer gallery, melbourne, australia 2000 offcuts&castoffs, linden centre for contemporary arts, melbourne, australia
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