Susan Hiller, 2015
Susan Hiller's debut exhibition at Lisson Gallery was in 2015 and included the work 'Wild Talents', consisting of three synchronized video installations, looped from a single monitor. Also included in her first exhibition was the work Emergency Case: Homage to Joseph Beuys 2012, and many other videos, installation, and two dimensional c-prints. Before showcasing at Lisson, Hiller had been producing art since the 1960s, exhibiting at many London venues.
"Susan Hiller's repertoire of assembled images, objects or sound effects embodies a delicate balance of the familiar and the unexplained that draws the audience into becoming participants in creating meaning. A compulsive collector of things that intrigue her, Hiller amasses ordinary and readily available material from which she selects to construct a mise-en-scène. Over the decades, she has consistently sought to give physical presence to her ideas in ways that have employed whatever materials and technology would best represent them. From early experiments with painting and performative events, many subsequently recycled into new works through unexpected arrangements of found materials and objects, to an innovative use of video and sound in pioneering multi-media installations, Hiller’s work has retained an extraordinary consistency in its exploration of overlapping themes. The associations are memories contained within and provoked by artefacts and rituals; the infinite possibilities of meaning contained within language; and the unexplored powers of the human imagination are all immensely complex subjects that are nevertheless rooted in our everyday and made accessible in Hiller’s work. It is from a shared culture that all her material is amassed and, given subjective form, her work is intended above all for collective contemplation and engagement. The selection of works in this exhibition does not represent the entirety of her extensive oeuvre but seeks to demonstrate the unfolding and development of a number of lines of enquiry and provide a fascinating insight into one of the most innovative and influential contemporary artists working in Britain."
- Ann Gallagher, ‘Shape Shifting’, Susan Hiller, Tate Britain, 2011