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Introduction by Andrew J Parker; essay by Caroline Collier; words by Susanna Heron; text by Wright & Wright Architects. Edited by Gemma Lloyd. Designed by Sarah Schrauwen. Published by Abson, 2019 with support from St John’s College Oxford
Susanna Heron employs drawing and a profound spatial knowledge to a body of works, spanning 30 years, permanently sited across the UK. Significant works are located at: The Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge; Brunswick Centre Bloomsbury; Priory Place, Coventry; Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and the Council of the EU, Brussels amongst others. This book documents the artist’s major new stone relief, Stone Drawing (2019), for the Library and Study Centre at St John’s College, which was designed by Wright & Wright Architects and opened in autumn 2019. Informative drawings, documentation of working processes, and distinctive photographs reveal Heron’s enduring interest in shadow, light and edge and permeate a collection of written contributions that examine this remarkable work from a range of perspectives. Caroline Collier retraces her own personal encounter with Stone Drawing and considers Heron’s longstanding interests, influences and affinities, through an intimate response to the artist’s complex and experimental practice. Complimenting this essay, the artist’s own words, presented as a series of brief notes for Stone Drawing, offer an illuminating insight into the most pertinent aspects of embarking on such a commission and set forth questions and statements that say much about her guiding principles and enquiries. From their position as the building’s architects, Clare and Sandy Wright meditate on the necessity of a tactful approach in adding to buildings which have evolved over centuries and share their own fascination with manipulating light and shadow. The photographs in the book are almost entirely taken by Heron some as documentation others to serve as a way of seeing. Special attention has been given to the embossed cover, which features one of the original Red Drawings made at the inception of the commission. Contributors: Andrew J Parker is Principal Bursar of St John’s College, Oxford; Caroline Collier is a writer and curator, and experienced museum director. Wright & Wright Architects is a London-based practice formed by Clare and Sandy Wright in 1994 with a particular expertise in archives, libraries and galleries. Gemma Lloyd is a London based curator with over a decade of experience in exhibition-making and publications. Sarah Schrauwen is an independent book designer and editor with a graphic design studio in Antwerp.
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