24 Art
SUZY Q & THE OWLS
I’m pretty sure David Attenborough won’t have encountered This is especially evident in the work she produced for the
wildlife like this before. Artist and illustrator Suzy Q’s sparse Travelling Gallery in Scotland. Opaque geometric monoliths are
landscapes are populated by some very odd fauna. Stags are placed at impossible angles onto rugged Scottish landscapes to
graphically angled and linear, as are the owls and pigeons which create scenery which is as bizarre as it is beautiful.
appear to be mapped on their own bird-like matrices. Their forms
are blocky and geometric, not exactly the usual cuddly Bambis or “I love the contrast between the built up environment of London
feathered heart-shaped faces you find inhabiting the woodlands. life and the sparseness of buildings and people in the Highlands.
My work echoes the methods that architects use to convey how a
For their creator, they represent a foot in two camps. The first proposed project would look once completed, hinting at what a
rooted firmly in the wild nature of the Scottish highlands of home; real location could ultimately look like”, she says.
and the other in the adopted second home of a different kind of
wild nature, London. Wright is equally at home working with all forms of media.
Combining 2D images and 3D models alongside textiles, she
“I have always drawn influence from my surroundings and favours projects that push her to develop her ideas and methods
especially my Scottish heritage, more so since I’ve been living in of production, maintaining: “It keeps things interesting. There is
London. I see it as a way of being closer to that which I experienced no reason to ever get bored and each process informs the different
growing up,” says Wright. “I think it’s part of my coping areas of your work.”
mechanism for living in London that my work focuses on elements
which makes me feel more connected to where I’m from.” There’s no danger of boredom presenting itself any time soon.
At the moment Wright is in training for a marathon, which she
Born and raised in Edinburgh, Wright studied first at Edinburgh admits is inevitably taking up a lot of time. After completing the
College of Art and then at Central Saint Martins in London. 26.2 miles, she’ll be publishing a book about illustration co-
Wright’s work explores urban and rural landscapes and investigates authored with her collaborator Claire Scully. As you do.
their aesthetic and geographical make up; a duality which was
galvanized by her earlier studied drawing work exploring geology There is an ambition to move into textile design and work with high
and minerals. It was that which sparked her interest in the process end fashion designers as well as interiors, but for Wright the call of
whereby two or more different elements are combined to make the wild is never too far away: “I would love to do a series of book
something new. “I apply this idea to the creation of images,” covers for Penguin. It would be amazing to do the illustrations for a
says Wright. “Bringing together disparate elements, rural natural history book or some kind of endangered species campaign.
landscapes, urban characteristics, flora and fauna to create a new Anything to do with the Scottish Highlands as well!”
environment.”
www.suzyqandtheowls.co.uk
Words Emily Hobbs
www.kmag.co.uk
K24-25_ArtSuzyQ.indd 24 29/4/09 11:39:25
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