The new series of works by Sue in this show has come about through a slight shift of focus in her work.
"I have increasingly become aware of the extraordinary in the natural world I see around me. Often it is the initial insignificance of things that will draw my attention: perhaps a single leaf flashing and spinning, caught mid-air in a web.
My interest here lies in an experimental combination of challenges, part through painting and seeing, and partly by utilising a flat black man-made substrate in terms of composition. Continuous questions of what is important to us as artists, and frequently reviewing where I am in terms of ‘context’, leads me to the inquiry lying behind this series. An acknowledgement of tradition brings to mind the rich still-lifes of Holland and Spain, and that the transactional element of trading in Dutch Tulips and bulbs has to be acknowledged; and also the high skill of women painters, whose work has often been glossed over. The luxury of some Dutch still-lifes speak much about the wealth of the patrons, here, I'm contrasting this with more commonplace plants like the Buddleia.
Botanical forms and motifs have underpinned much of my later work; painting this series in colour on to a black background brings other ideas to mind.
The work could also be seen as an analogy of life, birth, growth, development, and fading towards extinction, which we share existentially as parallel eco-residents with the natural world. Life can be brief, forceful, transient, fragile, and diverse. These elements I recognize as becoming fundamental to my work."