SUSU | Ilse van Rijn

SUSU

Essay by Ilse van Rijn

Published on the occasion of the exhibition ‘SUSU (Sufferin’ Succotash)’ at PuntWG
8, May – 31, May 2021

In 2019, Good Neighbour (GN) proposed an exhibition that could be seen as a container for words, similar to a book. To make art as words, this was the invitation to ten artists plus one writer.

Ilse van Rijn was that writer. She was initially commissioned to provide a text for the exhibition’s catalogue. The show being postponed, she based her writing on the participating artists’ draft proposals as well as Ron Padgett & Joe Brainard’s Sufferin’ Succotash (1971). Ilse’s words transformed into a work of speculative fiction: SUSU (short for Sufferin’ Succotash). SUSU was our answer to pandemic times.

Artists in the show: Clara Amaral, Enric Farrés Duran, Martijn in ‘t Veld, Maartje Fliervoet, Michiel Hilbrink, Francisca Khamis, Ignacio Gatica, Stéphanie Saadé, Martín La Roche and Dongyoung Lee.