“An explorer of darkness, abstraction,
and the surreal . . . ”
Over the past twenty years, multidisciplinary artist Heather B Swann has established a formidable reputation for picturing strange corners of human nature. An explorer of darkness, abstraction, and the surreal, she creates works that examine the viewer as much as the viewer may examine them. Recently, the artist spoke with Art Almanac to discuss her studio, inspirations, and expanding her practice into new media ahead of her upcoming exhibition with STATION Gallery in Sydney.
Heather B Swann, Lover, 2022, ink on paper, 58.7 × 77cm. Courtesy the artist and STATION, Sydney
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you?
Unless I am exhausted, at the end of every day, I sweep the floor and clean up in the studio. Then in the morning, I can start work immediately; or if I am feeling uncertain, I move things around and find older stuff hidden away in boxes or drawers and underneath what I am currently working with. This [process] means that I discover old-new things; images, materials, artefacts. Things shuffle around and clamour to be used. Sometimes I play around with [them] and invent what I am making anew.
At all times, I work to make something that draws me into it, that will not let go of me, so I cannot escape.
How do you perceive your work’s relationship between likeness and abstraction when considering its themes?
The push and pull between likeness and abstraction is the territory of art, and I enjoy moving around in that space. What I am trying to do is dive deep into how we are. Our human condition is the subject of art. Within any given theme or subject, I work to distil the páthos.
Heather B Swann, I want you, 2022, ink and oil on paper, 53 × 38cm. Courtesy the artist and STATION, Sydney
What caused you to expand your artistic practice into video, installation, and performance?
For my video works, I’ve been working with Michael Bugelli for a couple of years, and he suggested that I make a video; then he offered to work with me to make it. We had fun. This first video was also a sound piece: five people, just their hands tapping spoons against various old glasses. It was quite beautiful, and I used it in the installation Luna at Michael’s gallery space at Ingle Hall, Hobart, and then again in I let my body fall into a Rhythm in Tokyo in 2018.
In my installations, I am a sculptor. Space is one of my primary tools. I guess I think of every exhibition I make as an installation. And in my performances; actually, I am not a performance artist in the bodily sense, and never will be – I am much too secretive. However, I have presented a number of performances in collaboration with performers who have wanted to work with my sculptures. Conversely, I have made objects – what I call sculpture performance tools – for particular people. The first performance work, which became Nervous, presented at the National Gallery of Australia in 2016, came about because of a chance encounter with an extraordinary singer, Astrid Connelly.
I am currently working towards another major performance work entitled Misty . . . or maybe Mysteriosa.
Heather B Swann, So tired, 2022, ink and synthetic polymer paint on paper, 57.5 × 77cm. Courtesy the artist and STATION, Sydney
What do you want people to know most about your practice ahead of your latest exhibition with STATION Gallery?
Being an artist is how I make sense of the world. I consider it neither an easy path nor a right – as a graffito I once saw said, “You are owed nothing.” Making art is just my method for getting through the fragile days. Strangely, some things that I make speak to others.
Heather B Swann is represented by STATION, Melbourne/Sydney. Her upcoming solo exhibition will be on view at STATION, Sydney, from 18 March to 22 April 2023.
@heatherbswann
@stationgalleryaustralia
stationgallery.com
Jaimi Wright is a Perth-based arts writer who has also published with Seesaw Magazine, and an art historian with a passion for community engagement.
