York St Mary's

2006 Installation: Echo

Echo was created by Susie MacMurray, whose previous successes included Flock at Manchester Art Gallery, being shortlisted for the 2005 Jerwood Drawing Prize and international shows in France and Italy. The materials chosen by Susie for this installation were hairnets and the discarded rosin covered horsehair from violin bows.

Hairnets were chosen for their delicate nature and their metaphorical connection to the human body. The violin bow hair was chosen because of its former role in the intense and emotive human experience of making music.

In Susie’s words: “Echo is a response to York St Mary’s as a kind of vessel for the traces of profound contemplation, sound, memory, history and human faith.”

A former classical musician, Susie retrained as an artist, gaining a degree in sculpture and graduating with an MA in fine art from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2001. Working mainly in installation and sculpture, she quickly gained a reputation for site-specific interventions.