Susan Hiller: me, myself, and I

MOT International is currently presenting an exhibition of work by the London-based US artist Susan Hiller. It zooms in on work created between 1972 and 1985 in which Hiller focuses particularly on identity and femininity.

Susan Hiller (born in 1940) may not be that famous to the general public, but she is far from unknown in the international art world. Her work is part of the broader narrative of women exploring their identity through art and making their voices heard. Among other things, she does that by taking self-portraits – often at night – in passport-photograph booths in various Underground stations. The names of the stations in question, ranging from Charing Cross to Notting Hill Gate to Ladbroke Grove, can be found in the titles of the works. So the sequence is not merely a portrait, but also a sort of topography. Some of the photographs are accompanied by pieces of text. For the most part, these take the form of écriture automatique, in which Hiller allows her thoughts free rein. By exhibiting rather a lot of self-portraits here, she runs the risk of appearing narcissistic; on the other hand, they must be seen in the context of the Zeitgeist, in which women’s voices were often simply not heard in the dominant discourse. A less obvious self-portrait can be seen in 10 Months, in which the artist recorded her own pregnancy in a series of – austere, documentary-style – photographs of her belly, in which the pregnancy becomes gradually clearer. This starting point proves to be as successful as it is simple. Each month is accompanied by a piece of text, in which the correlation between pregnancy and creativity, art and life, is addressed. This is work of museum standard! And, in our opinion, a milestone in feminist art. We also liked her installation Monument, which presents 41 photographs of plaques on which a “hero” is praised. A woman, for example, who rescued three children from a burning house. Or a young boy who pushed his little brother to one side so he wouldn’t be run over by a car – the brave lad, sadly, lost his own life. In front of the work stands a wee bench where the visitor can listen to an audio recording that offers a meditation on life and death. The exhibition, thus, encompasses the whole cycle of birth, life, and death.

SUSAN HILLER: ASPECTS OF THE SELF, 1972-1985 •••
> 26/3, MOT International, www.motinternational.com