10th May 2022 by Frances
Susanna Heron
Walking in…
Susanna Heron ‘Side Street’ 2002, slate (detail)
Susanna Heron ‘Side Street’ 2002, slate and glass, 80m long, 7m high. The Westminster London (formerly City Inn), 30 John Islip Street, SW1.
Heron, daughter of British abstract painter Patrick Heron, is best known for her site specific stone relief work, that explores the relationship between art, design and architecture. Heron describes the setting of this installation as ‘a place for things to happen, a film set for real life, a meeting place, an escape, a place for contemplation, a place to eat…..It is a meditation, a memory, a moment.’
Here 4 monumental slate engravings, (from a series of drawings entitled ‘Elements’), a reflective etched wall and a roof designed to create shafts of light, evoke the atmosphere of a church aisle. This environment, effected by light, shadow and time, has been described as a ‘visual event’. Heron says ‘My work is intended to be quiet, accumulative and interactive.’
The installation also reflects all the sensitive qualities that inspire her work ‘tactile materials, beauty, light, love of nature, drawing, craft skills, prose, photography and music.’
This installation is on the Violet Walk and can be found between number 5, Tate Britain, and number 6 Henry Moore ‘Knife Edge Two Piece’. It can be accessed from Millbank, at the junction with Thorney Street.
