My story
I am a visual artist currently based in the Taupō region of New Zealand.
My multidisciplinary practice spans photography, painting, drawing, sculpture and installation. I work within transition zones—particularly the spaces where bodies of water meet human habitation—to explore and document the anthropological and geological layers that shape our relationship with place.
-Susan
In Longyear River Valley on Svalbard, near the end of my Spitsbergen residency with my ball of ‘string’ made from plastic food packaging and other consumer items used by me on my 8 month trip. Photo taken by Marijke Soulimans (fellow artist residency participant)
In Memory of Waitangi Reserve. 2018. Plaster of Paris
I hold a Bachelor of Visual Art and Design and a Master of Professional Creative Practice from EIT Hawke's Bay.
My work has been selected as a finalist in numerous prestigious awards, in New Zealand. These include the National Contemporary Art Award (2016, 2017), the Molly Morpeth Canaday Awards (3D: 2018, 2022; 2D: 2019), the Adam Portraiture Award (2018), the NZ Parkin Drawing Award (2021), the Waiheke Small Sculpture Award (2023), and the New Zealand Painting and Printmaking Awards. (2025, 2026).
I have exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout New Zealand and internationally. In 2024, I undertook three artist residencies in the Northern Hemisphere: in the Faroe Islands, Korpo, Finland, and Longyearbyen, Svalbard, where I spent six weeks working at 78° North. These experiences continue to inform and expand my exploration of landscape, materiality and place.