Mysterious Phenomena of the Human Psyche

Susan MacWilliam (1969 - )

paper, ink, plastic

2013-2014

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  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Government Art Collection
    Book Spheres, a sculptural work by Susan MacWilliam, imagines the book as a telepathic device that transmits information from writer to reader. In creating each sphere, the artist utilizes covers from books, mostly dating from the 1960s, about parapsychology (‘the study of mental abilities, such as knowing the future or telepathy, that seem to go against or be outside the known laws of nature and science’ - definition from ‘Cambridge University Dictionary’). MacWilliam has scanned and cut out the book covers by hand. The publications derive from the artist’s own book collection or were titles that she studied in major specialist research centres in North America and the UK.
  • About the artist
    Susan MacWilliam (born 1969) represented Northern Ireland at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Susan is a lecturer in Fine Art at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. Her video works are held in the British Library Sound Archive. Working with video, photography and installation, MacWilliam explores obscure and overlooked histories and considers perceptual phenomena and the world of the paranormal and supersensory.
  • Explore
    Places
    Subjects
    Materials & Techniques
    plastic, paper (as artists material), ink, sculpture (as object name)
  • Details
    Artist
    Susan MacWilliam (1969 - )
    Title
    Mysterious Phenomena of the Human Psyche
    Series Title
    Book Spheres
    Date
    2013-2014
    Medium
    paper, ink, plastic
    Dimensions
    diameter: 15.0 cm
    Acquisition
    Purchased from the artist as part of the Northern Ireland Centenary, March 2021
    Provenance
    The artist; from whom purchased by UK Government Art Collection, 31 March 2021
    GAC number
    18999