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Suki Chan CONSCIOUS
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Suki Chan Individual
bees are not conscious but the swarm is
2021 digital C-Type print
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Friday 18 March - Saturday 7 May 2022 CONSCIOUS continues at the
Bluecoat, Liverpool until Sunday 12 June 2022
Artist Talks Chan’s current project, CONSCIOUS, explores the future of our individual and collective consciousness, weaving a narrative through the secret lives of bees, dementia and science. The multi-platform project brings together the diverse, subjective perspectives of scientists and ordinary people, whose stories unwrap layers of thinking and preconceptions about individual and collective consciousness. In exploring memory loss Chan worked with individuals living with dementia, looking at how this can destabilise the understanding of surroundings and the present. For her solo show in the gallery Suki Chan will present two films, HALLUCINATIONS (2020) and FOG IN MY HEAD (2022) a major commission by Film London; a selection of photographs and a sound installation, A CUP OF YE OLD FAITHFUL. HALLUCINATIONS is an immersive journey into the personal experiences of two people who are living with dementia, placed alongside the perspective of two carers. The film reveals intimate details that convey how dementia changes perceptions – resulting in hallucinations, altered experiences of time and sense of identity. The video installation invites us to enter into the reality of Pegeen O’Sullivan, the daughter of Irish novelist, Liam O’Flaherty, who lives in a care village in the North West of England and Wendy Mitchell, who wrote her first book, after being diagnosed with young-onset dementia at the age of 58. We are transported to their interior worlds, their personal journeys and perceptions of reality. We are offered an insight into Wendy’s daily coping mechanisms in her home - photos adhered to the door of cupboards so that they can be identified as cupboards rather than protrusions from the wall. Old memories when recalled appear as present reality, dead relatives reappear in their homes; what would be unsettling for people without dementia, may in fact bring comfort and security for those with it. The intimate perspectives, dilemmas and hopes for the future, revealed in HALLUCINATIONS, offer a fresh and startlingly honest investigation of what it feels like to have dementia FOG IN MY HEAD juxtaposes real-world imagery with abstract scientific material, blending poetic vision, subjective viewpoints with post-human perspectives. Conceived through a collaborative process with author, Wendy Mitchell, FOG IN MY HEAD interweaves audio testimonies with abstract dramatisations and re-imaginings of her hallucinations, misperceptions and poignant moments in her life. The audience is taken on a sumptuous visual and aural journey: from the centre of a natural beehive, a developing brain, a home, an office and a forest. Connecting these distinct spaces is fog. ‘Fog descending on the brain’ is Wendy’s metaphor for how the neurocognitive disorder makes her feel. Fog is an analogy for the confusion, disorientation, isolation as well as the strange comfort that dementia brings. A CUP OF YE OLD FAITHFUL features ten intimate perspectives of the dementia journey. Voices spill from ornate and diverse teapots, vases and cups on a dining room table. The audio testimonies were recorded as part of an artist residency at Belong Care Village, Crewe. Each vessel is unique, some are chipped, cracked and repaired and are a metaphor for people and the fragility of life. Chan’s work has been shown nationally and internationally including the Museum of London, David Roberts Art Foundation, London; Tinytype, London; Centre for Contemporary Chinese Art, Manchester; Liverpool Biennale; Art Basel Hong Kong, Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, China; Frost Science Museum, Miami, US; Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan; and Dr. Bhau Daji Museum, Mumbai, India. Chan’s work is included in public and private collections in the UK and USA, including the Museum of London, David Roberts Art Foundation, The Ingram Collection and The Celebrity Art Collection on The Solstice ship. In 2021, Chan was selected for the BFI NETWORK x BAFTA Crew, a year long development programme delivered by BAFTA in partnership with BFI NETWORK. In 2020, Chan was awarded Film London's FLAMIN Productions, a major moving image artist award committed to nurturing talent and supporting innovative artists in their professional growth, supported by Arts Council England. She was also granted a bursary from Screenskills to develop new skills in VR.
Suki Chan FOG IN MY HEAD trailer
“On a bad day, it’s like fog descending on the brain. - Wendy Mitchell
Bluecoat, Liverpool will be simultaneously exhibiting CONSCIOUS, Saturday 12 March – Sunday 12 June 2022. For further information on the exhibition at Bluecoat follow this link. CONSCIOUS is funded by Arts Council of England, with commissions from Film London, Bluecoat, Science Gallery Rotterdam and Somerset Art Works, supported by Henry Moore Foundation, Baring Foundations, Crewe Belong Village and ScreenSkills.
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Suki Chan A CUP OF YE OLD FAITHFUL 2022 |
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Suki Chan A CUP OF YE OLD FAITHFUL 2022 |
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Suki Chan Belong Care Village 2022
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Suki Chan Individual Bees Are Not Conscious But The Swarm Is 2021 |
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Suki Chan PEGEEN and
WENDY 2022 |
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Suki Chan HALLUCINATIONS 2020 |
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Suki Chan HALLUCINATIONS 2020 |
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Suki Chan HALLUCINATIONS 2020 |
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Suki Chan FOG IN MY HEAD 2022 |
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Suki Chan FOG IN MY HEAD 2022 |
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Suki Chan FOG IN MY HEAD 2022 |
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