November 2008 Interview: Sue Jane Taylor

Working At Extremes

GEORGINA COBURN visited Sutherland-based artist SUE JANE TAYLOR in her studio to discuss her recent project in Tasmania and her latest work

SUTHERLAND-based artist Sue Jane Taylor is no stranger to extreme working environments. She has worked for over twenty years recording the lives of workers in the North Sea Oil industry on sites such as Piper Alpha, Piper B platform and Flotta Terminal.

A graduate of Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen, the Slade School of Fine Art, London and Konsthogskolan, Stockholm, Sue Jane Taylor is a recipient of the Glenfiddich Living Scotland Award and has held previous residencies at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich and the Armidale Gallery and Museum in New South Wales, Australia.

Surface, Mt Lyell copper mine, 450mm x 210mm, pen and ink washes, 2008.

The artist is currently involved in documentation of the Beatrice Project off the Caithness coast which aims to assess the feasibility of large scale deep water offshore wind farms. Taylor’s work raises important questions about the relationship between art, environment and industry. The human element of labour in relation to environment is a particular focus of her work.

In August 2008 she returned from a two month residency which was part-funded through HI~Arts in partnership with the Scottish Arts Council Visual Artist Awards scheme and hosted by Landscape Art Research Queenstown (LARQ) in Western Tasmania, and is now developing a body of work based on her experiences underground at the Mount
Lyell Coppermine and Henty Goldmine.

Sue Jane Taylor’s latest work will be on display at the Zeehan Museum, Tasmania in March-April 2009 and LARQ Gallery, April-May 2009, as part of the Ten Days On The Island Festival of The Arts, 27 March-5 April 2009

Georgina Coburn’s interview with Sue Jane Taylor (6500 words) is available to download as a PDF file – see link at end of the article.

© Georgina Coburn, 2008