Susan Begy

Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, USA

Artist statement

First of all, I am an earthling. Then a mammal, a human, a female. Born in North America, I have ancestors from various places across the earth, and I have no real knowledge, though plenty of guesses, about what becomes of me when I die. Identity. It’s at the forefront of our contemporary dialogue. Blindness to it obscures the ugly aspects of human history—the realities of imperialism, hierarchy, subjugation, and oppression. Yet, as we raise awareness of identity issues, with inclusion as one of the goals, exclusion and bitter divisiveness seem to be increasing. I crave the power to bring everyone into the fold of universal humanness, an indulgent daydream that I refer to as ‘Kafkaesque idealism’. It’s hard to explain but I have never genuinely felt different than anyone else—not by gender, race, religion, or any of the other specification markers—a feeling now supported by DNA analysis which tells us that humans are genetically 99.9% identical. How does this show up in my work? An urge for peacemaking underscores everything. The swaddling, twisting forms reflect a desire to soothe and comfort, ease the world’s trouble, wrap its wounds. Much the same way as a freshly bathed child is lovingly wrapped in a warm towel. The work is simultaneously comforting and unsettling. Drawn to using white, there is a sense of peace, purity, and light. But something interrupts—a clumsy steel pipe, a penile shape, a vaginal galaxy, a marble ring designed to do battle with a tree. I don’t...

Artwork