Contributing Artists

Susan Giles

Exhibition Statement as Preserved in the SUGS/SITE Archives:

“In my Asian travels, I have found validation for my belief that art should be both transient and integrated into daily life. Repetition in my work is a means of reintegrating art in to everyday experience.

The floor drawings are based on kalams, auspicious spice drawings made on the ground by women in India to give thanks to or welcome the deities. In 1995, I was privileged to study kalams at an art school in Kerala, India.

The images on the floor are of women processing cashews in a factory environment. Placed in a way that forces viewers to walk carefully among the women, the fragile drawings heighten awareness. Only the tops of the women’s heads are visible, alluding to the anonymity of factory workers. This ‘outside’ perspective also suggests the way in which factory labor is overseen by the privileged.”