Eyeblog

Olly & Suzi: BBC Storyville

Published: 10/2/2009

File under: Eyestorm Artists

Eyestorm artists Olly & Suzi were the subject of a recent documentary aired on BBC4 on Monday 2nd February. Storyville: Wild Art: Olly and Suzi Paint Predators follows the artists on expeditions to Tanzania and Antarctica, tracking rhinoceros in the wilds of Africa and diving with seals in the frozen waters near the South Pole. The documentary tracks the artists’ progress from their unlikely pairing at St Martins College in the late 1980s through to their present day practice and tackling their sometimes uneasy position between the high art world and wildlife art; furthermore it questions the thoughts and issues behind their work and analyses the process of their collaborative artmaking.

With insights from collectors and critics including Waldemar Januszcscak, the programme details the simultaneous drawing process of the artist duo and their relationship with the wild animals they draw. Both drawing or painting on the same piece of paper at the same time and responding to each others mark making each artist relinquishes the traditional ‘total control’ of the artist; it is fascinating to see them at work in, as one commentator puts it, a ‘séance-like’ mode. All of Olly & Suzi’s work is made out on expedition and in close proximity to the animals in their natural habitat, drawing the animals as they are in front of them or immediately after an encounter, the immediacy of which lends their work the true impression of the wild encounter and encapsulates the spirit of the animal.

Olly & Suzi often surrender even more control, offering the work to the depicted animal to make their own intervention, from paw prints and footprints to the almighty bite of a great white shark. The marks the animal leaves work as proof of the animals being there and together with the artists’ marks brings together the representation of the animal as a whole as it is at the time of the encounter. The final work, whether a sketched outline or a fuller painting is more than the depiction of a beautiful creature, it communicates the essence of that animal and our relationship as humans to nature. Returning to species and areas, many times in some cases, letting them gather more information from the subjects and refining their work, highlights the plight of some of these species and their environments, an issue close to the artists’ hearts and a central tenet of their work.

Made by an exemplary team of wildlife documenters including cameraman Doug Harris (Blue Planet), wildlife photographer George Duffield who has worked with the pair for many years and director and narrator Rupert Murray, the film is an intriguing exploration of the pair’s oeuvre of over 20 years and their connection with wildlife and nature. Storyville is an award winning international documentary series with five Oscars under its belt, which began over ten years ago that tells varied and eclectic stories from around the world.

If you missed the original broadcast of the programme it is available for viewing on the BBC iplayer until 6th April.

We have two Olly & Suzi prints available to buy. Caracal, which is featured in the documentary, and Anaconda were published by Eyestorm in 2007 and are exclusive to us.

By Hannah Shilland

In Association with the Institute of Contemporary Arts

Eyestorm is the leading online gallery of limited edition contemporary art. Founded in 1999, Eyestorm came under new management in 2006 and has refined its operations to make buying the finest contemporary art easier and more enjoyable than ever before.