“This exhibition has been on the drawing board for a long time. I have spent over 3 years collecting objects relating to the domestic sphere and to themes of violence in the home and gender inequality. Six decades into feminism and women are still talking about equal pay, childcare and glass ceilings.
“Scouring through many an op-shop, junkyard and recyclers, I cherry picked objects that caught my eye depending on their use, shape, colour, age and history. Cups, saucers, knives, scissors, door knobs, light-switches, cutlery, bottles and textiles all play a part in the compositions to tell the stories of each work. Familiar mass produced objects derive their re-presented identities from their new relationships to each other, and from the social history that comes from each one. They are fingerprints of the past, once essential but often discarded and victims of their own built-in obsolescence, temporary anchors to an ever-shifting reality.
“My paintings and assemblages share common motifs, focusing on the obsessive desire/pressure to present a veneer to the world of a perfect home; the interior environment expressed through the personal effects we gather around us, the domestic domain where objects are silent spectators to our lives.
“I’ve composed these works with their painted wallpapers, tablecloths, tiled floors and patterned carpets and curtains in order to juxtapose a knife or gun with ordinary domestic objects to convey a sense of unease or overt threat. I have deliberately portrayed no obvious violence, and leave it to the viewer to fill in the gaps.
“The compositions in my work are important. The objects are intentionally placed to convey harmony or dissonance or something intangible in between. It has always intrigued me that the private persona is very different from the public one. Outward appearances are just that: we behave differently behind closed doors” – Susan O’Doherty
Pinned to the Wall, at Spot81 Sydney 23rd November – 4th December and Coffs Harbour Regional on the 23rd March-22nd April 2017.
