Susan Norrie facts for kids

Susan Norrie (born 1953) is an Australian artist. She is known for her unique artworks that use videos and films. Her art often explores important topics like politics and the environment. In 2007, she was chosen to represent Australia at a big art event called the 52nd Venice Biennale.

Early Art and Painting Career

Susan Norrie studied painting at the National Art School in Sydney from 1972 to 1973. She also studied at the National Gallery School in Melbourne from 1974 to 1976.

First Exhibitions and Awards

In 1980, the Art Gallery of New South Wales included her work in a group show. They bought one of her paintings in 1983. The next year, her art was shown in a major international exhibition. This show was held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

In 1986, her painting called 'Fête' won the first Moët & Chandon art award. This award gave her a chance to work in France. Even with this success, Norrie felt mixed feelings about painting.

Moving from Paint to Film

Susan Norrie started to use more words and less figures in her paintings. Examples include her 'Peripherique' (1988) and 'Room for error' (1993) series. In the 1990s, she began to experiment with film. She found film to be a better way to share her ideas about politics and the environment. In 1999, she received a special award from the Australia Council for the Arts.

Video Art in the 21st Century

In the early 2000s, Norrie focused on the Asia-Pacific region. She used videos of environmental and humanitarian disasters in her large art projects. These projects were shown on big screens.

Exploring Global Issues with Video

Her 2002 artwork, 'Undertow', was shown at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. It used six screens to show storms, dust clouds, and mud pools. Art critic Andrew Frost said it made people think about a coming global disaster. He noted that the large size of the images made the work feel mysterious.

In 2003, Norrie created 'Passenger' for the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. This work also used six screens. It showed images of New Zealand glow worm caves and insect swarms. It also included scientific experiments and industrial pipes. Curators from the Tate museum said her work explores big ideas. These include new technology, natural disasters, and climate change. Her art often looks at how humans and nature conflict.

Her 2005 work, 'Black Wind', was a smaller video. It combined stories from Indigenous people about the fallout from the British nuclear tests at Maralinga. It also showed footage of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.

Representing Australia at Venice

In 2007, Susan Norrie represented Australia at the 52nd Venice Biennale. Her large artwork, 'Havok', was shown in three rooms. This work focused on the Lusi mud volcano disaster in Indonesia. Many people blamed this disaster on local gas drilling. She returned to this topic in her 2016 work, 'aftermath'. A professor named Larissa Hjorth described 'aftermath' as a calm look at terrible environmental disasters. She noted that humans cause these problems but often cannot control them.

Other Major Exhibitions

Since then, Norrie's art has been shown in many important places. These include the ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe in 2008. Her work was also seen at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2009. Other exhibitions include the Yokohama Triennale (2011) and the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (2013). She also participated in the Biennale of Sydney (2014) and the Montreal Biennale (2014–2015). Her work was also shown at the Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne in 2016.

Collecting Her Art

In 2015, one of Norrie's paintings, 'Tall Tales and True (Pinocchio)' from 1986, was sold at an auction for A$42,500.

Her artworks are part of the collections of major art galleries in Australia. These include the Australian National Gallery in Canberra and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. Her art is also held internationally at the Auckland City Art Gallery and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

A picture of Susan Norrie taken by Australian photographer Sonia Payes is in the Museum of Australian Photography.

See also

• Australian art