Su Rogers

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artist statement

ROPEWORK

Ropework paintings are informed by the ropes which make the vessels fast to the wharves – a metaphor for trying to hold onto a way of life which is drifting away as the oceans empty out of resources. This new work consists of  three canvases physically linked together to form a landscape format, furthering the concept of securing lines. The subject matter is grounded in representation, but the expression of these ropes lend themselves to abstraction.

My paintings are informed by a region where land meets sea and my artwork is an expression of that identity within me. There is a  connotation of local culture and stuff of place which  arises from this meeting place. My thought processes and work focuses on ‘localism’ as well as the folk tradition inherent in this culture, both rich sources of inspiration for my own paintings.

It has long been an abiding interest of mine to chronicle and document fragments of fishing and folk culture beginning with the Cod Moratorium in 1994. In 1994 I was awakened to the fact that the oceans were devastated. Looking at the material culture generated by fishing (tools, implements, vessels, baiting tables, sheds) has taken me in several different directions. In particular in this series I am interested in the day-to-day tools of the trade. I am not speaking here of computers and draggers and factory ships; I am speaking here of individual fishermen going down to the sea.

My paintings are a means to understanding origins and loss and the emptying of towns in the last skirmishes in the face of a steadily declining fishing resource.

selected biography

Su was born in Halifax, NS and is returning back home to reclaim her heritage within the next year from Central Canada. She takes every opportunity to spend time in her home province for research for her paintings and she exhibits frequently throughout Nova Scotia. Studying at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (BFA) Su majored in painting and art history. She has worked consistently throughout the past two decades as a dedicated practicing and exhibiting artist.

Her work has appeared in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia, and is represented in many public and private collections, including the City of Ottawa, Carleton University Collection and the Art Bank of Nova Scotia.

Su has been the recipient of many project grants which have allowed her to continue her practice. Her work has also appeared on book covers for Oberon, Mosaic, Carleton University Press and other Canadian literary presses.