Susan Morris
Born in Birmingham, UK, 1962
Lives and works in London, UK
Modern technology, the recording of time, and the documentation of movement come together in Susan Morris’s work. By using digital tracking devices worn on the body, the artist records her daily routine or seemingly repetitive gestures to produce images that reveal a body caught up in the machinations of clock and calendrical time. At the centre of Morris’s practice, explored through a range of different media, is the very traditional idea of an artist’s self-portraiture serving as a commentary on subjectivity in general.
Biography
Susan Morris was born in Birmingham in 1962 and lives and works in London. She holds a BA from Birmingham College of Art, an MA from Goldsmiths, University of London, and a PhD — titled *On the Blank: Photography, Writing, Drawing* — from the University of the Arts London (2007). She also undertook psychoanalytic training at CFAR, London, between 2010 and 2011.
Morris works across Jacquard tapestry, drawing, motion capture, and related media. Using digital tracking devices worn on the body, she records data such as sleep-wake patterns and ambient light exposure to generate images documenting the body’s relationship to clock and calendrical time. At the centre of her practice is the idea of self-portraiture as a commentary on subjectivity. Major public commissions include Jacquard tapestries for permanent installation at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford (2010, Wellcome Trust Arts Award), and six tapestries generated from ambient sound recordings for the Library and Study Centre at St John's College, University of Oxford (2020–22).
Her work is held in public collections including FRAC Alsace, ERES-Stiftung, SAMMLUNG SCHROTH/SKK, Pasquart Stiftung Kunsthaus-Sammlung, the UBS Art Collection, St John's College, Oxford, and the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.
Related Journal
Available Works
Susan Morris
SunDial:NightWatch_Sunshine_2010, 2024
Jacquard Tapestry: Cotton & Linen Yarn
251.5 × 95.5 cm
99 × 37 ⅝ in
Price on request
Susan Morris
SunDial:NightWatch_Sunshine_2011, 2024
Jacquard Tapestry: Cotton & Linen Yarn
251.5 × 95.5 × 5 cm
99 × 37 ⅝ × 2 in
Price on request
Susan Morris
SunDial:NightWatch_Sunshine_2012, 2024
Jacquard Tapestry: Cotton & Linen Yarn
251.5 × 95.5 × 5 cm
99 × 37 ⅝ × 2 in
Price on request
Susan Morris
SunDial:NightWatch_Activity and Light 2010-2012 (Satin Weave), 2017
Jacquard Tapestry: Silk and Cotton Yarn
129 × 207 × 5 cm
50 ¾ × 81 ½ × 2 in
Price on request
Susan Morris
SunDial:NightWatch_Activity and Light 2010-2012 (Herringbone weave), 2017
Jacquard tapestry: Silk and cotton yarn
130 × 312 cm
51 ⅛ × 122 ⅞ in
Price on request
Susan Morris
SunDial:NightWatch_Light Exposure 2010-2012 (Tilburg Version), 2014
Jacquard tapestry: Cotton and linen yarns
155 × 360 cm
61 × 141 ¾ in
Price on request
Susan Morris
Silence (Project for a Library) No 1 to 6, 2020
Jacquard tapestry, Cotton, Silk and Polyester yarn
146 × 305.5 × 5 cm
57 ½ × 120 ¼ × 2 in
Price on request
Susan Morris
SunDial:NightWatch_Sleep/Wake 2010-2014 (MLS Version), 2015
Jacquard tapestry: Silk and cotton yarn
134 × 179 cm
52 ¾ × 70 ½ in
Price on request
Susan Morris
Plumb Line Drawing No.08, 2009
Black pigment on paper
120 × 100 cm
47 ¼ × 39 ⅜ in
Price on request
Susan Morris
Set of 18 Drawings: The Crystal Ship, 2003, 2003
Ink on paper
33 × 38 cm
13 × 15 in
Price on request
Susan Morris
Motion Capture Drawing [SPDR]: Facing View, 2012
Archival Inkjet on Hahnemühle paper
120 × 200 cm
47 ¼ × 78 ¾ in
Price on request
Susan Morris
Motion Capture Drawing [ERSD]: View From Above, 2012
Archival Inkjet on Hahnemühle paper
150 × 250 cm
59 × 98 ⅜ in
Price on request
Susan Morris
Diptych: CONCORDANCE VII: UNHAPPIEST DAY 2020 (January 20th 2020) and CONCORDANCE VIII: HAPPIEST DAY 2020 (July 17th 2020), 2021
Folded Newspaper
57.5 × 73.8 cm
22 ⅝ × 29 in
Price on request
Susan Morris
de Umbris Idæarum [on the Shadow Cast by our Thoughts], 2021
Printed paper and wood, 12 × Soft Back Books, each 20.5 ×12.7 cm
24 × 35 × 14 cm
9 ½ × 13 ¾ × 5 ½ in
Price on request
Susan Morris
Record, Transcribe, Post: 24 Hours in Locked-down London, May 3rd, 2020, 2022
Printed paper and card, bookcloth covered slipcase, etched vinyl record
33.2 × 7.2 × 33.2 cm
13 ⅛ × 2 ⅞ × 13 ⅛ in
Price on request
Publications
Susan Morris _ Marking Time
Susan Morris _ 4 Tapestries Exhibition Booklet
2025
Art Cologne 2024 _ Review
2024
Lifework
2024
Tefaf _ 2022
2022
The Gorgeous Nothings _ Curated by Susan Morris
2022
Silence (On Prepared Loom)
2022
Susan Morris _ On Boredom
2021
Susan Morris _ ONGOING WORK
2021
A Day's Work
2019
Susan Morris _ Self Moderation
2016
Susan Miorris_ Sun Dial: Night Watch
2012
Susan Morris _ SontagMontag
2009
Shows / News archive
Previous Shows
Susan Morris_Record, Transcribe, Post_Special Edition Launch
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Susan Morris_Four Tapestries
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Sequential Gestures_Serial Approaches in Contemporary Art
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Art Cologne 2024
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The Gorgeous Nothings
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Susan Morris - Ongoing Work
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The Sleeper - Stefana McClure + Susan Morris
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A Day's Work - Raum Schroth, Selected by Susan Morris
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REFLEX II - The Brain Closer Than The Eye
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News