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Olly & Suzi Untamed
From: The Natural History Museum
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Olly & Suzi |
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION |
The collaborative British artists Olly & Suzi have been working together for the last 14 years in remote polar, desert, jungle and ocean environments, tracking, painting and interacting with predators and their prey. The animals are encouraged to interact physically with their paintings; by mauling, biting or scratching the works they leave their trace as evidence of a unique performance. Much of Olly & Suzi's art is created in collaboration with scientists in the field, and they are fascinated by the interaction between art and science.
"Olly & Suzi Untamed" is a major art installation being exhibited as part of The Natural History Museum's Year of the Predator (July 2001--May 2002). Olly & Suzi are participating as the Artists in Residence at the museum, working alongside scientists and curators to discover specimens in the collections that will inform and inspire new works. |
 ur art-making process is concerned with a collaborative, mutual response to nature at its most primitive and wild. We aim to document the passing of animals and habitats that are here now but may not be for much longer. We make our work in response to the natural world as honestly and as much from first hand experience as we can.
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We make all our paintings, 'hand-over-hand', working together at the same time. We chose this spontaneous process because we wanted to be released from the formality of painting alone. This approach has evolved into the work we now do in the field. We both have to let go, accept that we can't control what's going on, and trust the other one. A real advantage to this method is that we can capture twice the information in a given space of time, which is especially important when our subjects often make only a fleeting appearance." |
Arctic
 At -40°C and below you have to really look after yourself. When you're working in extreme environments, the process and organisation are essential--preparation is everything. The Arctic environment is not only challenging on account of the freezing temperatures, there are also geographical dangers such as deep crevasses and fragile ice. On top of this, the animal subjects, such as polar bears, can present a real danger too. |
We've worked at latitudes higher than people live. In this kind of environment there's no place for improvisation--we plan everything down to the last detail in advance. We wear three layers of clothing and gloves and strip down to one glove when we're actually painting. It's a race to get the painting done and get the rest of the gloves back on before we run the risk of getting frostbite. |
Desert
 The big issue in the desert is hydration. In such a hot, dry environment, the body loses water incredibly rapidly, even if you're not moving. So we're always well prepared and make sure we have all the water we'll need. |
We tend to work at dusk and dawn, avoiding the sun's peak during the middle of the day. As well as being an easier time to work, the animals are often livelier at those times. Many of the big predators do their hunting at night and sleep through the day. |
Ocean
 Working underwater is not easy because communication in such a problem. You end up sort of staring intently into each other's eyes and nodding and screaming a lot through your regulator. |
When we're painting underwater, we use very thick, absorbent paper that can be submerged for up to two hours without breaking up. We also use graphite and oil stick, and we push non-toxic water-based paint into the paper. It's not the same, obviously, as if you're painting on land, but it leaves a really nice trace. |
Jungle
 The jungle is incredibly humid so we put a lot of effort into keeping things dry. We put up a waterproof shelter every day and hang everything up underneath it. We wear 'wet' clothes during the day while we're working, and keep 'dry' clothes for the night times. |
Another challenge in the jungle is the insects--you can get really badly bitten and as well as the discomfort, this can make you extremely unwell. So you have to be very prepared and very aware. |
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