Acquisition of Susan Collis’ Our Wandering Kind
We are delighted to announce that Touchstones have recently acquired Our Wandering Kind by Susan Collis for the permanent fine art collection and ahead of her forthcoming exhibition (When we loved you best of all) with us opening in July.
Made in 2011, Our Wandering Kind represents an important composite work in Susan Collin’s oeuvre and encompasses many of the recurring motifs for which she has since become internationally renowned. On first glance the work looks like little more than a number of screws, holes and a staple left in the wall – in the context of a gallery, one might be forgiven for thinking the staff have just removed a work. However, with further inspection the viewer becomes aware that all is not what it first appears and that in fact all the elements have been laboriously crafted from a range of precious materials and stones.
The title is taken from the lyrics of a song by the American musician Laura Veirs that talks about things being displaced and in the wrong place and feeds nicely into the work where the various materials have been used and formed in ways we wouldn’t normally expect. More poetically, it also encourages us to let our minds ‘wander’ and imagine and inverted night sky (the white expanse of the wall) populated with a constellation of bright, shiny stars (the dark faceted diamonds, smoky quartz and sapphire used for the holes).
The work has been acquired with the generous support of the James Handley Bequest and will go on immediate display in our next permanent collection show (Toil, Trade & Titans).