Internationally acclaimed artist returns to North East with 'TV Dinners'
Internationally renowned artist, Susannah Hewlett, returns to the North East for a solo show, 'TV Dinners', currently on display at the Look Again gallery at 1-5 George Street. This unique and captivating exhibition draws on Susannah鈥檚 multi-disciplinary practice and uses artwork, performances, and live art to present a buffet selection of her finest cold cuts from the past 15 years.
Featuring a platter of audio and tv highlights and be-wigged character performance, Susannah shares more about 'TV Dinners' and her inspiration for returning to the North East.
"My exhibition, TV Dinners is a nod to that nostalgic feeling of having dinner on your lap while you watch TV. Something I did a lot of in the 90鈥檚 growing up as I loved telly! But also, the traditional sense of the TV dinners of the 50鈥檚 with the compartments for different selections of foods. My show brings together some of my work from the last 15 years - so a kind of buffet selection of some of my favourite pieces and particularly pieces that reference TV - like my spoof VSS Shopping channel product adverts.
I love making work which populates this space and can connect with people. Part of the TV Dinners installation is a front room setting so you hopefully people feel they can just come in, have a sit on the sofa and see what鈥檚 it鈥檚 all about. It鈥檚 about making creative stuff accessible to everyday people and giving them new experiences.
Working in Aberdeen this time, the Look Again exhibition has also been tied in with me mentoring younger artists from Gray鈥檚 School of Art. I last came up to the North East about 10 years ago and there seems to be much more going on now, despite the challenges of a post-Covid recovery that is affecting cities across the UK. Gray鈥檚 Look Again team, in partnership with Culture Aberdeen, has really been nurturing the creative scene up here and there鈥檚 so much more ambition to re-energise the city鈥檚 cultural offering.
I was particularly impressed by the recent Look Again LGBTQIA+ community club night, CRACK, which introduced a new format to showcase creative talent at a live performance. I loved the drive from the team that made Crack happen including, Bart Grabski from Look Again and Gray鈥檚 School of Art graduates, Olive and Anya, the performance duo. There were so many connections made at the event and there was so much excitement to showcase talent and to bring together the LGBT+ community.
From conversations I鈥檝e had with artists living in Aberdeen there's a sense that many creatives leave the city after graduating which is a real shame. What you do get from people that stay in the city and are interested in the cultural sector, is a very strong drive to create brilliant stuff. There鈥檚 a such a talented community of artists in the North East and because the city is smaller and the creative scene isn鈥檛 saturated, the connections are really strong. You can pull resources together to do something brilliant and you can try out new ideas. There鈥檚 also a lot of support and interest from peers to mobilise and get a scene going.
It's so important that the arts can connect with people - especially in unusual or accessible spaces. Many people are put off by the idea of going into art institutions or can鈥檛 afford to pay - so when art happens in public spaces and it鈥檚 free, it is massively impactful. They might encounter something unexpected or have an experience while they鈥檙e on the way to do something else in town. Why do galleries and exhibitions have to be seen as high art? I absolutely LOVE the fact that Look Again in partnership with Culture Aberdeen are reimagining empty city centre spaces. This is the way forward for derelict spaces and the key to bringing life back to our city centres.
Smaller businesses are struggling post covid, with people doing more online shopping, so we鈥檝e got to think creatively about how we can re-energise derelict spaces and empty city centres. I wish there were more projects like the ones curated by Look Again in other cities. It鈥檚 about making art more accessible to everyday people and about breaking down barriers so that people can experience creative projects as part of their everyday life.
I have been so lucky that I鈥檝e kept in touch with Sally Reaper, Look Again Director since we first met years ago at The Slade. We were reflecting on how it had been almost a decade since I was last in the city. The last time was as part of a show curated by visual artist John Walter called Lily and Mim 鈥� A Department Store. John really brought something new to the city centre by the reimagining of a department store with several artists presenting work in a disused shop space. As part of my presentation for the show my alter ego - shopping channel host Chris Titmas, sponsored the event and appeared on billboards round the city. Chris also opened the show, and the Lord Provost came to the private view gifting Chris a tartan scarf! He really got on board with the whole thing and the show made a real impact on the community. That connection to the city really stayed with me and I always wanted to come back."
TV Dinners is funded by the LACER scheme to regenerate Aberdeen and is being delivered by at Gray鈥檚 School of Art on behalf of
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