In the November 2023 edition of Muses – the arts blog from BJPsych International – Dr Tim McInerny, Pictures Editor, BJPsych International introduces Sue Morgan, the artist whose work is on the cover of the latest edition of BJPsych International.

Sue Morgan completed a doctorate in German philosophy and worked in the city as a corporate tax lawyer before being forced to retire in 1998 because of a diagnosis of schizo-affective disorder.

It was during time spent in hospitals that Sue began working visually and since then gained a first class art degree in 2008 and was a finalist in the DLA Piper Art Award 2009 with the work ‘Fictional Machines, Thought Droppings & Mental Maps’, a research based piece riffing on contemporary materialism in the neurosciences.

Sue’s current series of works are meticulously put together, fine pen drawings. “I don’t work with reality very much” she says. Her preferred way of working is to start with a constraint of some sort, “choosing anything, even something arbitrary”. Currently, this comes in the form of the media she uses – the size of paper and the fineness of the pen (a .003 copic pen). She also uses conceptual constraints, starting works using a phrase or list of words.

In Sue’s ‘Philae Settlements’ drawings, she wanted to give a sense of abandonment, of malignant places. She worked from a list of what they should contain which included: text, bridges, buildings, steps, ladders, measurements and mushrooms. 

Sue explains the word Philae refers to the spacecraft which landed in shadow on a comet, meaning it could not charge its solar panels and led to the team switching it off, an act of ‘incalculable sadness’.

Sue “tends to work in phrases” and writes down ideas and words rather than trying out sketches of things. “I don’t find it difficult to put notes on paper, but I’m not an illustrator”.

Sue Morgan’s works can be viewed at:
https://bethlemgallery.com/artists/sue-morgan/

Welcome to Muses – the arts blog from BJPsych International. Launched in March 2022, this new blog aims to highlight international art and artists, particularly from low-and-middle-income countries, with a focus on mental health. We welcome submissions for consideration, such as, comments on artwork, visual arts, literature, drama, films, podcasts, and videos. Do have a look at the instructions for blog authors for details on how to submit. General enquiries about the blog: BJPInternational@rcpsych.ac.uk

Professor David Skuse, Editor-in-Chief, BJPsych International