Susan Hiller
Recycled Works, 1972 -ongoing


Section 1: Relics



Hand Grenades. Ashes of burnt paintings in glass
jars with stoppers and labels, in glass bowl.

Collected Works 1968-72. Ashes of paintings in test
tube w. rubber stopper, tagged with signature & date.

Recent Works, 1972-73. Ashes of burnt paintings in glass cylinder w.rubber stopper; glass pestle; both with title & signature.

Recent Works, 1973-74. Ashes of burnt paintings in glass cylinder w. rubber stopper; glass thermometer; both tagged with title & signature.

Measure by Measure, 1973 - ongoing (Detail)
Paintings burnt annually, in glass burettes, on shelf.


" By burning a number of paintings and then retaining their ashes in a slightly scientistic archive, Hiller can be said to be clearing cultural ground. Other artists have made a big deal about destroying their work. But Hiller's act is one of transubstantiation through immolation. This suggests that her orientation toward conceptual art is deeply consistent with her prior critique of anthropology. In both cases, we are confronted with a 'remainder' and left searching for the meaning of a cultural practice which comes to us in an utterly fragmented form or as a transient moment in our life-world."
Michael Corris, Susan Hiller's Brain, 1994
Section 2: Painting Blocks
Section 3: Painting Books