Roger Suckling | Artist Profile

Tell us a bit about yourself and the work that you do

My work orbits the themes of place and autobiography and performance. I typically use photography and moving image to explore the concepts of place and time in an approach not dissimilar to documentary. Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work in varied roles, ranging from a part-time lecturer, participating in the opening of a Nottingham community arts centre back in 1979, through to exhibiting all over the world from Sydney to Chicago. 

What you are working on currently?

Over the past year I have been working on several projects. Most recently, I worked with Pete Ellis, another resident artist at Primary on ‘Three Trugs From Wilkos’. It was a playful installation using letters and slide projectors to create large scale, moving illuminations as part of Nottingham Light Night in February.

I also made a two-part video, ‘A walk across town A+B’, which records the same event, on the same day, but using different technologies. Part A, a walk carrying a photographic paper backdrop from home to studio provides a cross-section of the artist’s hometown. From quiet leafy streets and parks to a busy, noisy inner city. The second video, Part B is called ‘GoPro Are You Listening?’, which explores my interaction with technology throughout his walk as a means of presenting different viewpoints at certain locations on the walk. 

Do you have any other projects coming up in the future?

I do not have any plans project wise at the moment, but I am very excited about the upcoming Expanded Studio Project, taking place this summer. The project will see a group of fourteen resident artists from Primary collaborate, over a 6-month period, with fourteen artists based in Belfast. Not only is this the first time I have worked in a collaborative way, but I have never shown work in or been to Belfast, so I am looking forward to the experience of meeting new people in a new place. The Expanded Studio Project will culminate in an exhibition in Belfast and a symposium at Primary in August.

- Interview by Jenna McDonald