Conversational Drawing
Art Residency May 2011

Using aspects discovered in the topography and geology (rocks, land formation) of Fogo Island, as well as conversations with the Tilting community (about subsistence, hunting and gathering, homestead farming, sealing and fishing), Susan drew and interpreted the place. Incidental though these conversations may have been, Susan integrated the drawings taken from the physical environment with the directions received from locals on how to navigate their place, their community, and their heritage.  “The concept of “observer” or field worker is not a familiar one here: the people of Tilting have busy lives, so rather than sit around and talk, they involve you in the chore itself, which I found refreshing!”