SUSAN HALLS — ARKITYPES
SUSAN HALLS - ARTIST FILM - CLIENT | BRITISH CERAMICS BIENNIAL - JUNE 25
[SYNOPSIS]
British artist Susan Halls' ceramic 'Sentinels' are individuals borne from a lifelong preoccupation with making and drawing animals. For Award 2025, she pushed them into a dynamic sculptural realm. Using each animal as a construction unit, Susan built upwards in height and complexity, reaching a point where the sculptures become architectural — where legs and bodies become columns and arches.
[TRANSCRIPT]
"People say to me, 'oh, I'm an animal lover too.' And I think — I'm not an animal lover. It's something much more sinister, my connection to animals. It's a possessive feeling.
For the British Ceramics Biennial, my project is a collection of large, complex stacked anonymous animal forms — almost like a building unit, like a brick. I hope people get a feeling of bleakness about them — but also that they are beautiful objects. I hope they're unsettling.
There's a sort of magic involved in making something permanent and three-dimensional, standing there looking back at you."
[CAST + CREW]
Created by Lucy Steel and Cameron Doig
Artist: Susan Halls
Client: British Ceramics Biennial
Project Type: Artist Film
Exhibition: Award 2025, Spode Factory, Stoke-on-Trent
Year: 2025