The Meaning of Flowers

January 13, 2014 by susanmoirmackay

I’ve been fighting shadows, in this case the shadow has a name, ‘Insurance Company’. A little hidden clause in my contract means that although they will pay for water damage, they will not pay for wood that has rotted due to water damage. Apparently, I was supposed to telepathically know that there was water leaking behind the pristine white tiles, before it became ‘rotted wood’.  To placate me, the smooth-voiced man on the phone from the insurance company, apologises for […]

Categories: Art, Conceptual Art, contemporary art • Tags: Anya Gallacia, art, dying flowers, Flowers, Marcel Duchamp, van gogh

Selfie Society!

November 21, 2013 by susanmoirmackay

My children are posing in front of me, lips flared, bottoms sticking out – with dramatic obscenity and two fingers held up in front of their faces. This, they tell me, is the new style for ‘selfies’. Selfies, in case you somehow missed it, is a self portrait (photograph) posted online. And the point of the selfies, to my cynically bemused eye, is to remind the world, if not yourself, how fabulous you look! Or an opportunity for self flagellation […]

Categories: Art, Conceptual Art, contemporary art, nudes, photography, Portraits, Self Portrait, Selfie, society • Tags: art, conceptual art, frida khalo, lucien freud, portrait, sarah lucas, self portrait, selfies, van gogh

Blood, bones, hair and soap…

October 10, 2013 by susanmoirmackay

    There is an awful intimacy to drawing on bones. These are the bones of a dolphin. As I plot and mark or discover each slight nuanced gradient with my pen or pencil I feel as if I am probing into an unspeakable salty truth. But there is also something overwhelmingly awe inspiring in the intricacy of the structure of the bone. The bones fit in an astoundingly precise sequence to create what once was its back bone. Each […]

Categories: Art, Conceptual Art, contemporary art, human nature, mandalas • Tags: art, blood, bones, conceptual art, death, hair., marina abramovic, skeleton

NE6- Anthropology 2012- Human, System, Object.

January 19, 2013 by susanmoirmackay

2012 was supposed to be our end time and yet, we are still here! ‘Kingdom Come’ was the title of this year’s National Exhibition at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas. Artists were invited to explore the theme of apocalypse, personal or universal. Interestingly apocalypse ‘translated literally from Greek, is a disclosure of knowledge, hidden from humanity in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception’. (wikipedia) This quote intrigued me. And I decided to direct my approach from this […]

Categories: Art, Conceptual Art, contemporary art, National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, Portraits, society, The Bahamas • Tags: art, Bahamas, conceptual art, construct, structure

Boundaries: The Experience- Art and Phenomenological!

June 16, 2012 by susanmoirmackay

Last night I had disturbed dreams, flashes of colour, an intense vision of looking through back lit trees in a dark night – a vivid green, lime and yellow flashing across my eyes.  There was some feeling of connecting the pieces we had made earlier at the hall in L’Utopia with this ephemeral, translucent colour. And so another Wednesday night spent restlessly, resulting in getting up and reading till 5.30am in an attempt to draw myself back into sleep. Was I over […]

Categories: Art, boundaries, boundary, Conceptual Art, fear, Grand Bahama, human nature, life, light, musings, Profile, spirituality • Tags: art, art as process, art projects, conceptual art, process

Boundaries- An Art and Phenomenological Experience

June 7, 2012 by susanmoirmackay

Tonight I introduced to a few brave souls, my concept for an art and phenomenological experience.  8 of us altogether, a healthy mix of spiritual and art minded characters.   I am not leading this event, merely offering my fellow travelers a formula in which to follow.  I am not leading because I have been curious to do this exercise for a while…and so I wanted to share the idea with my friends and see what happens…. Also, L’Utopia is […]

Categories: Art, Conceptual Art, course in miracles, Grand Bahama, spirituality • Tags: art, art projects, Bahamas, boundaries, Boundary, healthy, process, spirituality

Roots of a Contemporary Alchemist.

March 16, 2012 by susanmoirmackay

Transforming Spaces opens next weekend – 24th and 25th March. The annual event that takes tour buses around art galleries in New Providence for a feast of art, has a twist this year.  The organisers sent out a call for proposals based on the theme “Fibre”, specifically a re-imagining of indigenous fibre. It seems to me that with every piece of art I make, I hit a moment where I curse that I ever had the idea!  This moment hit me very clearly […]

Categories: Art, Conceptual Art, contemporary art, Grand Bahama, National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, Profile, society, The Bahamas • Tags: arts

3 men.

August 7, 2011 by susanmoirmackay

O and I went to an event the other weekend.  it was ‘alternative’.  I phrase it carefully, this is a strange country. The people attending were not the ‘normal’ crowd.  Everyone fascinated me.  I wanted to paint them all, I could see so much on them, or at least I imagined I did.  Its hard to know if I was projecting.  But certainly I was inspired to portray what I imagined.  So I asked the two people we knew at the […]

Categories: Art, Conceptual Art, contemporary art, photography, Portraits • Tags: art, art projects, Bahamas, photography, portraits, process

life keeps getting in the way of observing life

July 12, 2011 by susanmoirmackay

I have moved my work to the Atelier at L’utopia. Its exciting and scary to move…..The biggest challenge i have is getting out there, i am used to working on a whim at home. Life is hot and busy.  The kids are in Canada…..but as usual dont feel like i have had enough time to relax into the break in routine. Had a fascinating conversation with T. G. on FB tonight.  She is a recently graduated artist working in new […]

Categories: Art, Conceptual Art, musings, Portraits

there is no sin

July 4, 2011 by susanmoirmackay

So after all my thoughts trying to make sense of the energy of censorship and the reality of sex/ making love.  I cant help but think about morals. I recently re watched the fascinating TED talk by Patricia Burchatt about dark energy and dark matter.  It intrigues me to imagine that (although it is all currently theoretical), the basic premise based on the evidence that they have, is that beyond the small percentage of matter, earth, us, trees, planets, stars etc, the […]

Categories: Art, Conceptual Art, contemporary art, human nature, life, musings • Tags: art, conceptual art, dark energy, dark matter, morals, sin, sinlessness, spirituality, TED talks