Image: Katie Louise Surridge, Keep on Wondering, 2011, Mixed Media (cattle feeder, shire horse collars, strip lighting and Victorian clay tobacco pipes) 2.2m x 3m x 3m, courtesy the artist and EB&Flow
10th June – 26th August 2011
Katie Louise Surridge’s first London solo exhibition, ‘voo-dology.’ Surridge constructs large structural installations from a myriad of ephemeral objects that she sources during scavenging missions.
She will be presenting a new, large scale installation entitled ‘Live Through This,’ incorporating Victorian tobacco clay pipes sourced from the banks of the Thames, Shire horse collars and a cattle feeder which will reach from floor to ceiling of the main gallery space at EB&Flow alongside a series of smaller installations. This work is influenced by frequent visits to horse fairs, such as Appleby in Cumbria, and includes objects and materials sourced from the souks of Fez, Morocco.
The process of discovery and development is integral to Surridge’s work. The assemblages of found and manufactured miscellanea on show – from basketball hoops to animal hides – develop narrative relations and her works seem to grow to fill their habitat and form links with each other.
‘‘Surridge weaves the mundane and disregarded into something magical and visceral through the closely knitted narratives that she adds to each piece.’’ Nathan Engelbrecht, Co-director of EB&Flow
Surridge’s work also often incorporates elements of animal and botanical origin, such as pelts, bones or animals which she preserves or taxidermies herself. Co-director of EB&Flow, Margherita Berloni explains, ‘‘through this her work displays an element of shamanistic and transgressive ritual, a kind of simultaneous veneration and abjection of the animal.’’
In 2010 Surridge was awarded the Dolbey Travel Scholarship which enabled her to travel in Ireland where she explored the Gypsy traditions of working with horses, collecting scrap metal and caravan culture. Surridge relies on visual experiences and the chance discovery of objects to evolve new work. Surridge was a finalist of Saatchi’s New Sensations competition 2010.
www.ebandflowgallery.com
Image: Katie Louise Surridge, 2011, Courtesy EB&Flow and the artist
